A Fresh Coat
by mizutanitony
Summary: Reclusive artist Mei Aihara, Granddaughter of famous artist Reo Aihara, reflects on her career and the events that led her to meeting and eventually falling in love with talent agent, Yuzu Okogi. AU fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

So, this idea came from me just listening to a love song that applies to a movie. Guess which movie it is? If you know movies, you'll know it when you see it.

And so, I'm going to be modifying some of the behavior so expect a bit of Out of character stuff. I'm sorry for that, but it's going to need to be that because this is a HUGE AU story.

So here's what's going to happen.

This story is not set in Japan but the US so...language and stuff will be modified and why some of this is going to seem off because we're dropping some of the Japanese speech patterns. But I'm going to try and keep the core personalities as close to original as possible...but give me some slack on this, I'm stressed from my other story, so this is my way of just working off some of the tension from that because that story is getting heavy.

I hope you guys like this.

Also 39 just wholly...kinda...took away a bunch of stuff from Uncomfortable Truths...do you guys...still wanna read that even with the canon that was just shown? I want to continue it; I, want to know if you guys will still like it.

Ps...this was supposed to be a one-shot...it is not going to be a one-shot.

Chapter 1

"I can't believe you talked me into this," grumbled Mei as she adjusted her jacket and stared around at the large crowd and painting covered walls of the Udagawa Art Gallery.

Mei didn't know why she'd allowed Yuzu to drag her to this event as she wasn't the main attraction, but if there was anything the past eight years had taught Mei, it was that she had a hard time refusing the blonde. Which was why, instead of working, Mei allowed Yuzu to take her out for the evening, despite knowing Yuzu knowing Mei's distaste for being put out on public display, no matter how crucial it was for her career. Even so, Mei avoided them whenever possible, preferring to let Yuzu do her job while she focused on her artwork.

Mei was already behind on several commissions not to mention the issues with her latest attempt on a new project wasn't going as planned and it was frustrating the crap out of her.

"I know, I know." Yuzu grabbed a couple of glasses of wine from a passing waiter and handed one to Mei. As it was a work event, Yuzu dressed in a pair of slacks and a blue button-up shirt with a red bow. The outfit was a stark contrast to the leather jacket and paint covered jeans, and shirt Mei was wearing making the black-haired woman feel rather out of place. "But Udagwa asked me to bring you, and I promised I would bring you as a personal favor to him. A few buyers have been asking to see you, and they said they'd be willing to spend a bit more if they saw some of the artists show up. So it benefits everyone, not just you."

"Of course." Mei sipped her wine and winced at the acidity. "Why am I not surprised that it's about the money?"

"Because that money pays your bills." Yuzu took a sip as well and nearly spat out what was in her mouth. "Oh God, this is foul."

"I've had worse." Mei downed her drink and pointed at Yuzu's glass. "Are you going to finish that?"

Yuzu chuckled and reached out for Mei's paint and clay covered hand, and once their fingers locked she handed over the glass. Mei drank this one a little more slowly, and after walking around for a few minutes, she quietly said, "And just so you know, the bills that get paid through these things are _ours,_ not mine."

"That's true." Yuzu took her glass back and finished the rest of the wine, slightly more accustomed to the taste, but still finding it unpleasant. "If that's the case then maybe try and be a little nicer to them? I like having a big house to come home to."

"We'll see." Mei started leading Yuzu through the gallery, stopping every so often to greet a patron or admire some of the other works that were on sale. "But if I recall you're the one who decided to let Harumi take over the sales of my works, so if we fall behind, it's your fault, not mine for you giving up the extra income."

"I'm not complaining." Yuzu nudged Mei with her shoulder before kissing her on the cheek, in clear sight of several guests. Some of them giggled while a few turned their heads up at the display. "I make more than enough from other clients. Besides it's a little unfair to take _all_ the money from your sales when other people work just as hard as me."

"I wouldn't mind it," snorted Mei as she stared up at a large abstract landscape painting of a nearby mountain range. "But I understand why you're willing to give up the money. It's one of the things I love about you."

From the corner of her eye, Mei spotted Harumi who was in the process of finishing up a sale on a more expressionist piece Mei had turned in for this exhibition. She wasn't particularly proud of it, upon closer inspection, Mei found her brushwork to be sloppy, and in retrospect, Mei found herself wishing she'd have chosen a darker orange for some of the background shadings not to mention she wasn't happy with the shade of green she'd used. But it couldn't be helped since she'd had six other pieces to finish and couldn't waste her time being finicky and so long as the customer was happy, Mei wasn't going to spend too much time worrying about it.

When she finished her sale, Harumi excused herself from the guest and waved at Mei and Yuzu, both of them waving back, and as Harumi walked toward them, Mei found herself thinking about the moments that had led up to her current predicament.

It had been roughly ten years since Mei had first met Harumi; back in the latter half of their senior year of high school shortly after Mei had first visited the tattoo parlor where Harumi's sister had been apprenticing. They had seen each other around school from time to time, but after Mei's first appointment at the salon, the two began managed to strike up a close, but slightly awkward friendship.

While her sister shared a similar disposition as Mei, both of them being rather blunt and straightforward people, Harumi was a little more open though she tended to avoid conflict. However, being around her had been good for Mei as if it hadn't been for their friendship, Mei wouldn't have met Yuzu.

At the time of their first meeting, Mei was still in recovery from not only the death of her grandfather but also several months fallout of fighting to get back tens of thousands of dollars worth of paintings her previous dealer and broker had sold without her knowledge.

Not that Mei was entirely against selling them, her grandfather had said that if she needed to, she had his blessing to sell them. But the fact the man stole them from right under her nose while she was in mourning was something she couldn't forgive.

Many of the pieces had been unfinished works her grandfather had started, but due to his illness, his body had become too frail even to hold a brush, thus leaving them half-done or barely started. Mei had offered to help him finish, but when she did, he'd steadfastly refused her.

"These are my works, Mei," he'd said after her what had to have been her tenth offer to help him complete his work. "If I'm to end my life without finishing them, then so be it. Concentrate on your vision and let mine die with me."

But Mei refused to give up, and each time she offered, her grandfather refused to listen, and Mei had to watch him slowly slip away, and when he finally did pass, the vultures arrived.

Within days of his death, several dealers descended upon the house that had been her family home for at least four generations, ever since her great-grandparents had moved from Japan and settled in Chicago, being one of the few Japanese families in the area to avoid being locked away in the camps during the forties. But that hadn't stopped her grandfather from having to watch his friends be locked away for the crime of "being Japanese." At the time, he couldn't actively speak out, so in the act of defiance, her grandfather had spent much of his youth painting traditional Japanese art during his childhood, earning him the disfavor of his parents for a time as it brought unwanted attention toward the family along with a small criminal record.

But eventually the war did end, and when it did, his works caught the attention of a few more popular artists in the area, and they wrote him several letters of recommendation that allowed him to attend the art college in Philadelphia and begin his career as an artist.

Over the years her grandfather had managed to create a name for himself and through his works managed to amass a large following and with that came a private fortune that put his parents to shame. Luckily for him, he managed to stay relevant throughout the majority of his life until he semi-retired after Mei's father left her in his care shortly after the death of her mother.

Unlike his father, Sho had a bit of wanderlust, and though lacking the talent of his father in creating original pieces, he made a successful career out of doing restoration work of older works and teaching art history in famous colleges, museums, and artistic institutes.

Despite his seemingly neglectful nature, Sho did his best to give Mei the attention he knew she craved. He visited often, sent her letters and gifts, and called her every few days. Mei could remember eagerly anticipating every single one of those things, but the visits were what she loved the most. How he'd come home wearing some new outfit from a country he'd visited or showing her how to make some new kind of recipe he'd learned. Sho always brought her lavish gifts and spent every minute he could with her if she didn't have school when he came home. They were the best memories she had of her childhood, outside of the times she spent with her best friend Himeko, but they were also the worst because no matter what, in the end, he always ended up leaving her.

She remembered each night before going to sleep, hearing her father and grandfather argue about how Sho needed to stay behind for Mei's sake. After one such argument, Mei remembered waking up to find her father sitting next to her bed and asking her if she'd like to travel with him. She didn't know if it was because of her age or the fact that she was half asleep, but she'd refused, and he didn't push it, saying that he understood and that he'd always love her.

Even after her refusal, he still came home to visit, but each visit became shorter and shorter until, by the time she turned eighteen, he only visited during the major holidays or when he happened to be in town for something work-related. Outside of that, their communication was limited to strictly digital means and the occasional letter.

By the time their relationship had reached that level, Mei rarely answered any attempt he had made at communicating with her, throwing herself into her studies and after high school focusing solely on her art, practicing the styles her grandfather had spent years drilling into her.

Mei had to admit that he'd been a hard teacher, enforcing in her the need to always practice the basics of each style before allowing her to go off and experiment. Despite his rigid adherence to the basics, never stifled her sense of creativity, even if it took her off the traditional styles of art he'd pounded into her brain.

Mei remembered the first time he'd caught her attempting to draw something out of a comic book using a digital tablet she'd bought with some money she'd earned doing sketches in the park. Thinking that he'd punish her for using a digital medium and for attempting to draw something so childish, Mei had buried them in her closet, only bringing them out when her grandfather thought she'd gone to bed.

When he did find her, Mei expected him to yell at her for not adhering to his perspective that the traditional methods were the only real ones. But he'd surprised her, telling her that he was proud of her curiosity and her willingness to try and incorporate new techniques that he'd been unable to figure out.

"I'm just too old," he'd said with a laugh and waved at his hand at her computer. "Don't get me wrong; I understand that this is how much of my art is sold these days. But I think the digital style is something I'll never be able to learn, so I'll leave that to you. But remember never to neglect the fundamentals, Mei. If you become too reliant on things that make your work easier, you'll forget what it's like to put in the effort."

Mei had taken that advice to heart and did her best to stick to them, and for a few years, she'd managed to resist the lure of using digital programs to do her artwork.

She'd solely worked through the physical medium, allowing her grandfather to teach her what he could as his body weakened and by seventeen she'd managed to find a dealer on her own, despite his recommendation for using the family he'd worked with for years. It wasn't that she was ungrateful to him for trying to look after her. He had done it for so long that if someone were to ask him about her father, she was more likely to talk about her grandfather than her actual one, but like most eighteen-year-olds, she felt the compelling need to prove that she was an adult and could make it on her own.

Around the time that happened though, her grandfather had slowly slipped to the point of no return and while she was making decent money through her broker, the man had made off with nearly fifty of her grandfather's pieces along with taking off more than his fair share of the money he'd made from selling her works. This forced Mei to pull all her remaining works from Amamiya's gallery, locking them away, and begin trying to make a name for herself via the digital spectrum.

It had been a painstaking process seeing as how mei had neglected using her tablet for several years. When she first started out, Mei had no clue what she was doing, and it took her over a year to finally master the use of the programs required to do her work. For some, this would have been a monumental task, but luckily for Mei, she had very her needs were few, not just financially but also regarding hobbies and food, so she had plenty of time to engross herself in her studies. But she didn't shut herself off completely, and she managed to make time to hang out with Harumi, her sister, and the few other friends she had, but most of her time was consumed with offering up samples to gaming, comic publishers, and other companies that still required conceptual artwork or illustrators.

At first, her work had been ignored, but with enough time and perseverance Mei had finally earned some recognition, and she was beginning to make a decent living as a freelance artist. Much of that had been due to Mei figuring out ways to transfer her paintings into her computer and using her editing software to touch them up, giving her an edge over her strictly digital counterparts. Not only that, but thanks to her lawyers, Mei not only earned residuals from the projects she worked on, but Mei now had a rather impressive collection of distractions ranging from, artbooks, movies, video games and when she had the time she spent her days looking for any signs of her work and was rewarded with seeing characters looking almost exactly the way she'd designed them. For a time, Mei had found herself happy with the way her life was going. But as the months turned to years, she'd received no word about any of her grandfather's paintings; she slowly slipped into a depression that led to her almost wholly abandoning her grandfather's teachings. But that all changed the day Harumi called her and asked her to come to her boss' office to verify if a painting a woman had brought in was a genuine was, in fact, an authentic Reo Aihara painting.

When she'd received the news, Mei had been in the middle of doing a painting concept for a book cover and after hanging up nearly broke her leg running down the stairs while simultaneously balancing a box of photographs and trying to pull on her boots and jacket trying to reach her taxi before it drove off. She vaguely remembered yelling at the woman for not driving faster, despite the icy roads and throwing at least three times the amount of her fare before running into the gallery, grabbing Harumi away from a customer and yelling, "Where is it?!"

"Sir, can you give me a moment," said Harumi nervously to the man who'd been interested in a small sculpture that the brunette had been showing to him. "I'll have one of my co-workers finish showing you those few other pieces before you decide. Does that work for you?"

The man gave both Harumi and Mei a curious look but nodded and allowed Harumi to set him up with one of the junior dealers, and once they were in the hallway leading to Udgawa's office, Harumi rounded on Mei, seething.

"You are so lucky that guy works with me on a regular basis! If he'd been someone else, my ass could have been fired!"

"I doubt, Udagawa would fire you over my being impolite," snorted Mei, leaning back against the wall and picking at some of the paint that had gotten under her nails. "You bring in too much money, but if he did fire you, I'd hire you."

"To sell what," laughed Harumi as she began leading Mei toward the back. "You told me you weren't gonna focus on selling physical paintings until you got your grandfather's stuff back."

"Well, maybe today's my lucky day," said Mei offhandedly as she flicked the last bit of paint from her finger, "and possibly yours if things work out."

"Maybe it is." Harumi stopped just before the door and turned back to Mei with a strained expression on her face. "Don't get your hopes up, Mei. I know you've been spending a lot of time and money looking for his stuff and we're doing our best, so if it's not the real thing, please don't lose your shit."

"No promises," chuckled Mei as she shifted the box of photographs under her arm and pointed at the doorknob. "Are you going to open it?"

Harumi rolled her eyes and knocked on the door before opening it and letting Mei in.

"Well, part of it was because of this," was the first thing Mei remembered Yuzu saying as she knelt down toward the far right corner of the painting and began pointing at what Mei figured were the characters that made up her grandfather's name. "It's the way they're painted onto the canvas, and when I asked the person who brought it in where they'd got it, she said it was an estate sale, but..."

"It wasn't an estate sale," growled Mei as she walked forward and slammed down the small box of photos she'd brought with her and began flipping through the contents, trying to find the series of photos that matched the painting.

"I'm sorry?" Yuzu brushed some of her hair out of her face and glared up at Mei, annoyed that someone had just interrupted her. "Harumin, do you know her?"

"Well yeah." Harumi seemed as annoyed with Yuzu as she had been with Mei about the situation, but was doing a better job at keeping her emotions in check. "This is Mei Aihara; she's a friend of mine and the granddaughter of Reo Aihara. She's here to verify if this really is one of her grandfather's paintings."

"Oh." Yuzu stood up and straightened the long skirt she'd been wearing and nervously approached Mei.

"I'm Yuzu Okogi," said the shorter woman with a slight bow. "I'm the agent that..."

"I'm not concerned with that right now," said Mei tiredly as she pulled the pictures she needed out and pushed her way past the blonde, ignoring her cries of anguish at being ignored. "Udagawa do you mind if I..."

"Go right ahead," said her grandfather's former broker with an anxious smile. He was a tall man, dressed in a fine suit with a slight bit of gray hair. He was one of the few people Mei still trusted, and she vowed that if she ever returned to painting, she'd only work with him and his people. "From the look of it, it is the genuine thing, but you never know. There are a lot of decent counterfeiters out there.

"That's true," sighed Mei as she began inspecting the lines, looking for the occasional marker her grandfather put into his works. She knew that a few of them were very easy to spot and could easily be replicated, but those weren't the ones she was looking for. The ones she needed were usually hidden in corners or in shapes that people typically didn't pay attention to.

Usually, Mei wouldn't have had much of a problem finding the symbols she needed to identify it, but this painting was one she had little knowledge about. She was more familiar with his finished works which is why Mei was so keen on finding the symbols. Given the knowledge of how many unfinished works her grandfather had in progress, it would have been easy for someone to attempt to recreate his style and try to pass it off as one of his, which is why Mei had the photos. She was painstakingly aware of how her grandfather meticuously catalogued his work, having taken several of the photographs herself during her youth and after nearly twenty minutes Mei finally found what it was she was looking for hidden in an odd looking

blob near situated between two dark circles.

She grew so excited at her discovery that Mei dropped the stack of pictures and began chuckling to herself while the others all eyed her cautiously.

"This really is one," gasped Mei after she'd found the small symbol of her name her grandfather had hidden in what Mei could only guess was some bird. She'd gotten so excited that outside of sheer relief, Mei turned to Udagawa and pulled the shocked man into a bone crushing hug as she loudly said, "You actually found one! Udagawa you're incredible."

"I'm glad you think so Mei, but it wasn't me that found it," explained Udagawa, looking rather uncomfortable at Mei's sudden outburst. "It was Yuzu."

"Yuzu?" Mei broke the hug and stared up at her friend, perplexed by what he'd just said. "Who's Yuzu?"

"I am," said the disgruntled looking blonde that Mei had shooed away earlier.

"Oh." Mei stepped away from Udagawa and straightened her jacket and stared the woman over.

Compared to Mei's disheveled appearance, Yuzu was dressed in a lovely button up shirt with a bright bow instead of a tie that was the same shade as her eyes along with a pair of crisp blacks slacks. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a neat pony-tail and sleek reading glasses that accentuated her round features. Mei could instantly tell that she was either an agent or a broker and decided to keep her distance, regardless of what the woman had done for her.

"Is that all you have to say," growled the blonde indignantly after Mei refused to say anything else.

"Thanks," shrugged Mei before staring at the painting and then at Udagawa. "Is it okay if I take it home with me?"

"No you can't," huffed Yuzu while Harumi held her back in an attempt to keep the two from destroying the office. "I've already called the police, and they said that it has to stay here."

"Did they say why," snorted Mei, growing more annoyed with the blonde by the second.

"How should I know!?" Yuzu had nearly knocked over Harumin as she shook her arms in frustration at Mei's indifference. "All I know is what they told me if you want to know why then maybe you should ask them!"

"Then I'll do that," yawned Mei before asking Udagawa if she could crash in his office for a bit while Udagawa ushered Harumi and Yuzu out of the office saying that they should go to lunch and that it'd be on him.

When they were gone, Mei finally felt a sense of peace at knowing that it was, in fact, possible for her to reclaim her grandfather's legacy and for the first time in she couldn't remember Mei fell into a peaceful sleep until she was woken by Udagawa saying that the police had arrived.

The talk with the cops took forever, and despite being in the same room, Mei ignored most of what the blonde had said, focusing more on when and how she could get her grandfather's painting home. Unfortunately, Mei was forced to admit defeat when the police told her it would be a while before she could take it home since they needed to question the woman who'd attempted to sell it to Yuzu.

After receiving that news, Mei returned home in a fit and shut herself in her studio, pulled out a large number of her paints and began furiously painting and before she knew it two days had passed. On the verge of collapsing, Mei retreated to the shower, devoured and gorged herself on a meal of three-day-old Chinese food before slipping into a hard, uneasy sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When she woke, the first thing she noticed was that she was no longer laying on her couch, but was instead buried in her blankets. Smacking her lips and grimacing at the odd sensation that accompanied her dried mouth, Mei reached out from under her comforter and fumbled around for the bottled water she kept on her nightstand. When she felt it, she pulled it beneath the blanket and removed the cap and took a swig, coughed, and spilling the water down her chest, but feeling relieved at the cooling sensation in her throat.

After capping the bottle, Mei lifted the blanket slightly, glad to see that the lights were off and that it was dark outside. Pulling the blanket off, Mei climbed out of bed and stumbled blindingly into the bathroom, intending to go back to bed when she was finished but was blinded by the glaring light of her phone when she returned to her bedroom.

Rubbing her eyes, Mei instinctively lowered the brightness on her phone's screen, but was too late to answer the call and after checking the history saw that it was Harumi who called.

Pulling the call history up, Mei dialed Harumi back and when she heard the sound of the call connecting croaked out an annoyed, "What?"

"So you are alive," laughed Harumi over the sounds of blaring music and screaming people. "Are you okay? I've been trying to call you for the past couple of days, and you didn't pick up."

"Yeah," coughed Mei as she sat up and took a swig of an opened bottle of water she had next to her bed. "I'm fine I just ended up getting caught up in some work and was up for two days straight then crashed.

"That certainly sounds like you," grunted Harumi knowing full well how obsessed Mei could get engrossed with her work. "Are you sure you're okay? You seemed kinda pissed when the cops said you couldn't take that painting with you; I was worried you'd do something stupid."

"I'm fine." Mei took another sip of water and sat down on her bed, running her hand through her hair and trying to work a knot that had formed in her neck. "Just a little stiff after sleeping for so long. Where are you?"

"I'm at a bar." Harumi broke the conversation for a moment and shouted for the bartender to get her another round of shots before returning to Mei. "Mitsuko and Matty are with me right now and wanted to know if you wanted to come and join us. They said they finished the final draft of that tattoo you wanted done. I think you're gonna like it, I mean it looks awesome, but are you sure you're gonna be okay? You do remember what happened when you got the ones that went along your spine?"

"That's why I'm doing it over multiple sessions." Mei yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stared at what looked like a blob of gold on canvas. "I already talked it over with your sister so don't worry about it. Did you hear anything from the cops yet?

"Not a thing," sighed Harumi, sounding as disappointed as Mei felt. "They said it could be awhile before they find the guys who sold it and it's gotta remain in evidence until then. Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Mei stood up and stretched, groaning loudly as her back popped in several places. "Which bar did you go to?"

"We're at the Gold Star. Hey, screw you!" There was the sound of a woman shouting back at Harumi and then a few other patrons before the brunette finally calmed down enough to talk to Mei. "Damn, this was a new shirt too."

"What happened?" Mei was in the middle of pulling on her jeans and tightening her belt when the commotion happened.

"Just some jerk and his girlfriend running into me and not apologizing. Made me spill my whiskey all over the new tee-shirt I got at that concert I went to last week. Ah well, I'm not driving so I think I should be okay. So you coming or just asking for the hell of it?"

"Yeah, I'll stop by for a bit. I need to get out of the house anyway." Mei slipped a shirt on and began fastening her tennis shoes. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Is there anyone else with you outside your sister and Matty?"

"Uhhh, outside of Kayo and Yuzucchi, no one comes to mind."

"Yuzucchi?"

It'd been a long time since Mei had heard someone use a name like that and the only thing that came to mind was the memory of the cantankerous blonde she'd met in Udagawa's office.

"Yeah, well, you know her as Yuzu. She was the lady who brought in your grandpa's painting remember?" Mei heard the sound of ice jingling followed by a loud coughing fit from Harumi. "Oh jeez. Hey, Tommy? Are you _trying_ to kill me? I asked for whiskey, not moonshine!"

"Don't tell me you invited that blonde?" Mei pulled her jacket on and grabbed her keys, a bunch of pencils, and her sketchbook before heading toward the front door.

"Of course I invited her. She's my friend," sighed Harumi, "and she did you a solid by bringing us that painting and calling the cops so I told her to stop by if she wanted. It's not like I planned this since I just now invited you because your dumbass decided to go on a work bender. If you don't wanna come, that's fine; there's a chance she might not come either, she's pretty busy most days so it'd be a miracle if she does show up."

"Fine," snorted Mei as she locked the door and made her way to the street "Just don't make me talk to her if she shows up."

"Whatever," chuckled Harumi deviously. "I'll see you in a bit."

Despite her trepidation overseeing the blonde again, Mei had to admit Harumi had a point about Yuzu doing her a big favor by calling the police and bringing the painting to Udagawa's when she could have easily stolen the canvas for her gain. Even if the blonde's attitude had annoyed her, Mei knew there wasn't any reason for her to hold a grudge.

She indeed was grateful, and after arriving at the bar, she'd decided to at least attempt an apology, even if the blonde didn't accept it.

When she entered, Mei was met with the sound smell of booze, bar food, and loud rock music. Her stomach grumbled much to Mei's annoyance, and she wasn't surprised to find Harumi and Mitsuko standing at the pool table chatting with a couple of guys while a pink-haired girl sat at the bar looking bored and swirling a giant glass of soda.

Approaching the bar, Mei ordered Tom Collins, and as she waited, she felt a hand on the back of her shoulder and heard a voice slur, "Look who decided to show up!"

Sighing, Mei shrugged the hand from her shoulder and faced the inebriated woman.

"Hello, Matty."

Matsuri Mizusawa, or more commonly known as Matty, was dressed in her usual outfit of a worn out hoodie, ripped jeans, while her bubblegum pink hair peeked out from beneath a cat ear beanie. She smelt vaguely of smoke and liquor, something that wasn't uncommon for her and Mei knew that unless she indulged her, the younger woman would refuse to leave her alone.

"Finally crawled out of your hole, eh," chuckled Matty before sipping deeply from her rum and coke.

"I have." Mei accepted her drink and asked for some water to go with it. "It's been a decent couple of days, and Harumi told me you were here, so I decided to come and have some fun."

"Yeah, I can see that." Matsuri reached out for Mei's sketchbook only to have Mei slap her hand away. "Seriously you gotta relax and hang out with us. It's the weekend so why don't you put your book down and enjoy yourself."

"That's why I'm here," snorted Mei as she took a sip of her drink. "To enjoy myself."

"With a sketchbook?" Matsuri leaned back in her chair and took a giant gulp of her rum and coke? "Honestly you gotta learn how to cut loose. I mean yeah you got some booze, but why don't you play some pool, talk to some people, maybe hit on someone?"

"That's the last thing I want to do right now." Mei took another drink and stared down at her friend, rolling her eyes at how stupidly the younger woman was grinning.

"How come?" Matsuri began poking her ice cubes with her straw and tried to suck up what little of her soda remained. "I mean it's not like it's a big deal, ya gotta do more than work your ass off. Hell when was the last time you got laid?"

"That is none of your business," growled Mei angrily at Matsuri.

"That answers that question," snickered Matsuri as she held up her glass and signaled for a refill.

Mei bent down and finally noticed the flushness in Matsuri's cheeks and rolled her eyes when she smelt the lingering scent of rum on her friend's breath. Even though she was only a couple of years younger, Matsuri was a talented artist in her own right and worked with Harumi's sister, Mitsuko, in her tattoo parlor where Mei was a somewhat regular customer. Though her respect for the younger girl's abilities was great, Mei avoided hiring her, instead preferring to use Mitsuko as her primary given Matsuri's penchant of adding in quirky little additions that her customers never asked for.

Most of them seemed to enjoy it however since Matsuri did find a way to incorporate it into the design rather seamlessly. If anything Mei had to chalk it up to being similar to the way she or her grandfather would find ways to leave their mark in their works, though Mei preferred doing it to an actual canvas instead of human skin.

"Dude what are you staring at?"

Matsuri blinked and shifted back from Mei a little and would have fallen out of her seat if it wasn't for Mei catching her.

"How many have you had?"

Mei was well aware of Matsuri's tolerance level and while it was nothing to scoff at, the girl was fond of mixed drinks that hid the flavor of the alcohol and had a tendency not to monitor how many she had, which was the only reason Mei wasn't yelling at her friend about her prying into her personal life.

"Four or five," hummed Matsuri before holding out her arms and greedily flexing her fingers in anticipation for the drink the bartender was bringing her, only to have it snagged by Mei.

"Get her usual meal and a pitcher of water, please. I'll be taking this."

"What?!" Matsuri slid out of her chair but was almost immediately knocked back into it thanks to her legs giving out. "Come on Mei give it back!"

Mei laughed to herself and sipped the cocktail before helping Matsuri back into her chair and patted her friend on the top of her head.

"Get some water and food in you, then booze. I'll even order your first drink afterward, deal?"

There was a tense moment of silence as the bartender watched the intense staring contest between the two women and let out a loud sigh of relief when Matsuri finally nodded in defeat under Mei's cold glare.

"Okay," gasped Matsuri while a green tinge slowly formed in her cheeks. "But I want a strong drink next time, got it?!"

"Sure," nodded Mei while wondering just how long Matsuri would be able to stay awake once she finally got some food in her stomach. "Just take care of yourself, and I'll check on you in a minute."

Taking the drinks, Mei headed toward her usual table in a corner near the pool table and sat down and took a sip of her cocktail before flipping open her sketchbook and began sketching out the scene in front of her.

As usual, Mitsuko had dressed in an outfit made up of dress pant's a long sleeved button up shirt and a tie, if t hadn't been for her rolled up sleeves exposing her numerous tattoos, she would have looked like an average office worker.

Harumi, on the other hand, was dressed down in a pair of jeans and her alcohol drenched tee-shirt and laughing with one of the guys she and her sister were playing pool with. From the looks of them, the men were either clients of Mitsuko's or just people who were interested in wondering where she'd gotten her tattoos done. Either way, Mei was too busy focusing on her work to pay much attention, knowing that at some point Harumi would join her or call her over to play a game with them.

Until then she was content to sketch the scenes as they played out in front of her.

The book she was using already had dozens of various pictures from her previous visits to the bar.

Some were simple drawings of the furniture or the bottles behind the bar, experiments in lighting and shadowing, but the majority of them were of people and their various activities. A few had people laughing, some crying, others just sitting quietly at their tables staring up at whatever happened to be playing on the television. There were even days when Mei somehow managed to catch the occasional intimate moment such as a kiss or a couple holding hands.

Despite the noise, Mei enjoyed visiting the bar thanks to the honesty the atmosphere provided and never left without filling no less than three pages with each visit.

Feeling her hunger begin to set in, Mei settled on ordering her usual fair and when she looked up to order she was greeted with the sight of a blonde woman sitting across from her, staring curiously down at her sketchbook.

"What the..," gasped Mei jumping back in her seat and smacking her head on the edge of the booth bench, sending a sharp pain through her skull.

"Are you all right," asked the blonde, trying to slide out of her chair so she could check on Mei. "Hey, can we get some bagged ice over here?"

"I'm fine," hissed Mei as she began checking to see if there was any blood on her fingertips. Luckily for Mei, the worst her injury would probably give her is pounding headache.

"Are you sure?" Yuzu stopped moving and stared at Mei cautiously, but took the ice the bartender brought them and handed it to Mei.

"Pretty sure." Even though she was trying to play tough, Mei took the ice and applied it to her injury, wincing at the searing cold. "Thanks."

"Well consider it repayment for scaring the crap out of you." Yuzu smiled at Mei, her face burning with embarrassment. "First I get you pissed at me and then I nearly make you knock yourself out. Keep hanging around me, and I'm likely to kill you."

"I wouldn't go that far," grunted Mei as she adjusted the bag. "Just open your mouth the next time you decide to sit down with someone. I don't really pay attention when I get absorbed in my work."

"Sorry." Yuzu grinned sheepishly and brushed some of her hair behind her ear and looked up at Mei with a small blush forming in her cheeks. "You just looked so focused that I couldn't help but sit down and watch you work for a bit. You're pretty amazing."

Blushing, Mei looked down at the page and seemed mildly pleased with herself. It wasn't overly detailed, but it did manage to capture the essence of her friends as they enjoyed their game of pool, but as usual, Mei noticed that she felt like something was lacking, but she couldn't place what it was.

"It's not bad," said Mei pushing aside the paper and staring up at Yuzu. "But, I'm sure you're used to seeing people work like this all the time given how you're a dealer, broker, agent? I never really did catch what it is that you do."

"Agent and occasional broker," smirked Yuzu before taking a sip of what Mei guessed was a martini. "That's how I found your grandfather's painting. The lady that brought it in uses me on occasion to sell works she finds or wants me to find someone to help verify if a painting is legitimate."

"Did she happen to tell you anything?" Mei set the bag down on a coaster and dabbed at her hair with a napkin. "About the guys that sold her the painting I mean?"

"Just that she went to what she thought was an estate sale at an auction house and that's how she got it." Yuzu finished her drink and ran her finger along the rim of the glass. "After that, she brought it to me to see if I could find someone and I dunno, I just remembered hearing about what happened with your grandfather and since pretty much anyone who knows his work knows he's exclusive through the Udagawa company, I brought it there and then they called you."

"I see." Mei sat back and took a sip of her Tom Collins and stared at Yuzu, amazed that the woman sitting in front of her had been the uptight art dealer she'd seen a few days prior.

Outside of work hours, Yuzu seemed to prefer bright colors, opting to wear a bright orange and red striped shirt that appeared to cut off at her shoulders. Her hair was still pulled back in the same ponytail, but Yuzu instead of studded earrings, Yuzu wore a pair of large hoops along with a series of bangles on her wrists.

In school, Mei would have laughed at her, finding her choice in clothing to be both gaudy and pretentious, but after becoming friends with Harumi, her attitude had changed, and she'd slowly changed her opinion, learning that sometimes a person's choice in clothing wasn't always a direct reflection of their personality. So, as a promise to hers and Harumi's friendship, Mei withheld her judgment until she got a better understanding of the blonde.

Finishing off her first cocktail, Mei sighed and whispered, "Thanks for that, by the way."

"I'm sorry?" Yuzu lifted her head and stared at Mei, oblivious to what the woman had just said.

"I said…"

Mei reached over for the rum and coke and took a long draft, hating its watered down taste, but knowing it was one of the few ways she'd be able to gather the courage to say what was on her mind.

"I said, thanks for doing that," repeated Mei a little more confident now that she'd finally said it out loud. "For finding my Grandfather's painting. I was beginning to think I'd never see one of them and….well...I shouldn't have treated you like that, and I'm sorry for not being more gracious back in Udagawa's office."

"Oh." Yuzu's face lit up at the words, and she couldn't help but smile. "Well thanks, that means a lot. But don't worry too much about it. I get why you got so upset after word got out about what happened to you and your grandfather you have every right to be mad at _anyone_ who somehow gets ahold of one of those paintings."

"Thanks." Mei smiled nervously back at Yuzu before hastily taking another drink and staring down at her sketchbook.

"You're welcome," said Yuzu with the same strained silence while she continued to fiddle nervously with her glass.

As the silence grew between them, Mei and Yuzu both heard Harumi, Matsuri, and their other friends begin laughing loudly over the music.

Feeling like things were only going to devolve, and not feeling particularly up to imposing her presence on the group, Mei looked up from her sketchbook and noticed that Yuzu's eyes were locked on it eagerly.

Growing tired of Yuzu's anxious look, Mei picked the book up and held it out and grunted, "Here."

"What?" Yuzu gave Mei a shaky smile in an attempt to throw her off, but the way her eyes darted between the book and Mei gave her away.

"You keep looking at my sketchbook." Mei motioned the book towards Yuzu and nodded. "It's okay if you want to look at it. They're not pieces I ever intend on selling so take a look. Think of it as thanks for helping me out."

"Are you sure?" Yuzu took the book and palmed it carefully. "I mean I know from Harumin you don't like people seeing your work before it's finished so..."

"It's true that I prefer having control of when and where people get to see my work," answered Mei before waving down a server and asking for some food and a couple of refills. "And since you helped me out, I figured this was the least I could do."

"Thanks." Yuzu opened the book and began flipping through it, smiling at all the pictures while Mei alternated between finishing off the rum and coke and her water.

While Yuzu continued to flip through her book, Mei couldn't focus on anything but her smile. The way her cheeks contoured when her lips moved and how her eyes narrowed when she giggled at whatever was on the page. As she watched the blonde, Mei felt herself reaching for a napkin and pencil and began instinctively sketching her. It wasn't much, seeing as the napkin wasn't an ideal material, but Mei made do with what she had, and after several minutes, Mei noticed a shift in Yuzu's face, causing her to set down her pencil and ask, "What's wrong?"

Yuzu looked up from the pages and stared at Mei, looking a little less enthused than she previously had.

"What are you talking about?" Yuzu took her drink from the server who'd just arrived, her eyes widening at the immense amount of food Mei had ordered and watched in amusement as Mei began tearing through the wings with ravenous hunger.

"fa draings," said Mei through a sauce covered mouth of barbecue sauce.

"Say that again," laughed Yuzu pointing at her mouth and offering Mei a napkin. "I couldn't hear you through all that half-chewed chicken."

"Sorry," answered Mei after she swallowed her food and licked some sauce off her fingers. "I haven't eaten in a couple of days."

"Don't worry about it." Yuzu reached across the table and wiped a bit of excess sauce from the corner of Mei's mouth, causing the raven-haired girl to blush, making the blonde giggle. "There we go all clean."

"Thanks," muttered Mei as she took a sip of water, avoiding Yuzu's gaze. It'd been a long time since someone had done something like that to her, and she didn't know how to respond so she opted to reach out and tap the page Yuzu had stopped on, staining it with a barbecue sauce fingerprint. "But I was talking about the pictures. You looked happy at first, but then out of nowhere, your expression changed. Do you not like them?"

"Oh no, I think they're great! But ummm..," Yuzu pointed at the space next to Mei and then at herself, "do you mind if I sit next to you while we talk about this, I think it'll make it easier for me to explain. If not I get it, and I'll try to do it from here."

"I don't mind," said Mei as she picked a fry up out of one of the baskets and chewed on it. The truth was she did mind, but only because it meant giving up some of her precious personal space. But once she sat down, Mei found that the smell of her perfume mixed with the warmth of her presence made the situation a lot more bearable.

"Thanks," said Yuzu before pushing away the baskets and pulling the book toward her and tapping on the faces of the people. "It's their faces that caught my attention."

Mei looked at the picture and tried to understand what the blonde was talking about but couldn't see it.

"I don't get it. What's wrong with them?" Mei had seen these pictures a dozen times before and knew they weren't perfect. They were practice sketches and weren't ever going to be made public, so she didn't pay too much attention to detail. "I was just goofing off they aren't supposed to taken seriously."

"Yeah I know," answered Yuzu with a nervous chuckle. "But it's just that well….everyone looks kinda sad in them, not all of them, but the later ones all seem to be a little less lively than the others."

Yuzu flipped to the front of the book and showed Mei some early pictures from when she and Harumi had first started hanging out at the bar. Mei's technique back then had been a lot less refined, but she did remember having a lot of fun watching Harumi and the others while sketching them. But as she watched Yuzu flip through them, Mei slowly began seeing what the blonde was talking about. It was plain to see that her technique had improved, but as she investigated the pictures, Mei found herself leaning in, finally understanding what it was her drawings were lacking.

"I take it you saw what I was talking about," asked Yuzu as she tried to angle her chest away from Mei's ear.

"Yeah, I do," muttered Mei before moving back a bit too quickly, hitting her ear against Yuzu's breast, making both girls jump in surprise.

"Sorry," whispered Mei as she felt a tingle go down her spine thanks to the contact on her ear. Mei shifted away from Yuzu, and the two women did their best to keep a respectful distance as they continued to discuss Mei's work.

"Don't worry about it." Yuzu gave Mei a nervous peripheral glance and said, "But yeah, it was just something I noticed. It's not a big deal, and if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to."

"No, it's fine." Mei reached out for her cocktail and took a long drink before setting it down and began swirling the ice with her straw. "It's just that now that I think about it, what you're seeing is probably the result of my grandfather's death."

"Oh." Yuzu shut the book and slid it back toward Mei. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

"Don't apologize," chuckled Mei before chewing on a couple of more fries. "I offered to let you look at it, and since you are an agent, it's only natural you'd notice it."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Mei coughed and sighed, grabbing one of the tacos from a basket and chewed thoughtfully before speaking. "I'm not afraid to talk about it. I mean he's been gone for a while now, and I took care of him as his health failed. I was prepared for it, but it still hurt when he finally did die. Not as much as it would have originally, he spent a lot of time making sure we were both prepared for it and I've had my time to mourn for him. I just don't enjoy the idea of people profiting illegally from his death."

"That's understandable," chuckled Yuzu nervously pointing at one of the baskets. "Do you mind if I have a bit. I haven't eaten anything since lunch."

"Have at it." Mei picked up the basket of fries and the tacos and handed them to Yuzu and the pair of them sat in silence for a few minutes, quietly eating the food Mei had ordered.

"You look good by the way," coughed Mei, her ears burning. "It's definitely a change from what I saw you wearing in Udagawa's office.

"Oh, well, you know it's not something I wear every day, just when Harumi and I go out. Except not in the winter, it's way too cold for that." Yuzu's cheeks flushed with embarrassment at her wordiness and after chewing on her lower lip fo nervously for a moment loudly said, "You know, I can draw too. Would you like to see?"

"Umm sure," said Mei taken aback by this sudden declaration; handing over her sketchbook and one of her pencil's. "Go ahead."

"Are you sure?" Yuzu looked down at the book and then at Mei. "This book seems important. I mean there's a couple of pictures of your grandpa in here, and I don't wanna destroy it."

"Don't worry about it." Mei did her best to smile, but she could tell by the blonde's reaction that she wasn't doing an excellent job of it. "I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to see and since you gave me some honest feedback maybe you'll let me give some in return. I promise I won't be too harsh."

"Okay," answered Yuzu eagerly before moving over to her original seat while covering the book with her free arm to keep Mei from catching a peek.

Mei humored her and focused on watching Harumi try and help a _very_ inebriated Matsuri into the bathroom while Mitsuko shared a beer with her pool buddies, while slowly depleting her basket of fries. By the time Yuzu finished, Mei had nearly emptied the basket and placed an order for another

"Here," said Yuzu shutting the book carefully while using the pen as a bookmark just as the new basket arrived.

Mei took the book and smirked when she saw Yuzu begin to fidget excitedly.

Wiping her hands on a napkin, Mei opened the book and had she been drinking; she would have spat out her drink at the sight of an odd human-shaped face with long dark hair and eyes staring up at her.

"What is this," laughed Mei as she took in the picture. "I thought you said you could draw."

"I didn't say I could draw well," laughed Yuzu, stealing the remaining fries. "But I did say I could draw, and I did draw something."

"It certainly is." Mei picked the book up and couldn't help but admire Yuzu's gall and found that while it wasn't technically great, Mei had to admit it did have a certain charm to it. "What's it supposed to be?"

"I thought it was kind of obvious." Mei watched as Yuzu's smile grew a little more sheepish. "It's supposed to be you."

Mei felt her ears burn at this revelation and stared back down at it and after a minute she did see a vague resemblance. Smirking, Mei picked up her pencil and waved at Yuzu, "Come here."

"Why," asked Yuzu after nervously swallowing the last of the fries. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not necessarily." Mei tapped the blank page next to Yuzu's drawing and then pointed at the seat next to her. "I mean, to be honest, the adage is true that art is subjective. But if you're going for realism, I thought you might like a lesson or two in how to make me look a bit more like myself."

The look on Yuzu's face was one of absolute delight, and she practically leaped over the table to sit next to Mei. For the next few hours, Mei patiently walked Yuzu through a lesson in basic facial drawing and before they knew it, their friends had left and by the time the last call came around, Yuzu was pleased with her progress and Mei had to admit she was mildly impressed at the woman's ability to focus.

When they finally had to leave, Yuzu offered to pay for them to share a cab, but Mei declined to explain that she lived nearby.

Saying that she understood, Yuzu pulled a business card out of her purse and scribbled something on the back and handed it to Mei saying, "Thanks for talking to me tonight and covering the tab. Hopefully, we can do this again?"

"I don't see why not." Mei took the card and helped Yuzu into her cab. "Have a good night."

Yuzu returned the compliment and when she was gone Mei flipped the card over and blushed when she read:

 _Thanks for the lesson tonight and hanging out with me. If you wanna do it again, here's my personal number and email. I look forward to hearing from you._

When she was done reading it, Mei slipped the card into her wallet and headed home where she spent a few more hours painting, this time followed by staring at the card for a bit and fighting the urge to send Yuzu a late night text, before falling asleep.

For the next week, Mei resisted the compulsion, but finally, after some goading from Harumi about heading out to see a movie, Mei gave in and decided that it would be a little less awkward to have a third person come along and sent Yuzu a text and immediately regretted it.

While no stranger to texting, Mei hated the anxiety of waiting to see her phone light up with an alert. She much preferred the direct contact a phone call had, and Mei wished she had taken that route and hated not knowing why she was so nervous.

Deciding it best to occupy herself, Mei spent the next few hours working on a few of her commissions, getting lost in the concept art she'd been asked to design for a horror video game that was supposed to be released in a couple of years, and Mei was tagged to help with the environment designs. Just as she finished a particularly dark scene involving a decrepit house and destroyed street, Mei heard her phone ping, and she nearly fell on her face as she ran to see who it was that replied.

Catching herself on the dresser, Mei grabbed her phone and flipped it open, seeing Yuzu's name next to the message alert.

Opening it, Mei felt her throat close when she saw the reply read:

 _Sure! I don't have any plans tomorrow! I'm glad you finally got back to me, I was worried I might have scared you giving you my number so quickly. Do you and Harumin have a time you want to head out?_

Taking a moment Mei processed how best to respond and then shakily typed out:

 _I'll check in with her and get back to you, and I'm sorry that it took a while for me to reply. I got swamped with work, but I'm glad you answered. Anyway give me a while to get ahold of Harumi, and I'll let you know what's going on. I'll see you tomorrow._

After sending it Yuzu told her that she was looking forward to hearing back and after talking with Harumi, Mei learned that Harumi would be available after seven and when Mei told Yuzu the time the blonde replied with:

 _It's a date!_

Mei smiled and typed back:

 _See you tomorrow._

After sending the message, Mei stared down at her phone and after reading Yuzu's reply shouted, "WAIT?! WHAT?!"


	3. Chapter 3

So some news around my life

it has been a bit of a pain.

I will continue Uncomfortable Truths! I never planned on canceling or discontinuing it.

Number two I need to finish another project before I go back to it.

.

Number three someone by the name of Uroko did an excellent bit of fan art for me of Mei with tattoos! If you're on Amino, you can see it there or on tumblr. look up uroko-aka-tooru and it's so awesome!

4) I have an exciting Citrus based project I need to work on as well before fanfics, so you guys will, unfortunately, need to wait a bit longer. SORRY!

Now let's get started on making Mei into a dork.

* * *

Chapter 3

Why did I bother getting so worked up? It's a stupid movie, not a date.

Mei looked up at the street signs, trying to get her bearings and sighed loudly and scratched her head.

She should have realized that Yuzu would be the kind of person to throw an idiom like that around casually, given the company she usually kept.

Even Mitsuko would have caught onto the fact that Yuzu hadn't been serious, but for some reason, Mei had taken it that way, so much in fact that when her father had called her earlier that evening, she'd made the mistake of telling him about it.

"I don't think she meant it that way, Mei," he'd laughed over his cup of cappuccino. She'd managed to get him as he was eating his breakfast and Mei had suddenly realized how hungry she was. "I mean you've only met her twice and the first time you two practically ripped each other's heads off. I highly doubt she's willing to go on a date that quickly. But then again; it's not entirely out of the question. It's happened before so what's to stop it from happening again."

"That's not very helpful," Mei snorted as she finished tying her shoes.

"Well, what can I say," shrugged Sho after swallowing a large chunk of pastry, "people do strange things."

"You truly are no help." Mei walked over to her desk and began looking for her wallet. "I don't know why I bother asking you for advice."

"Because you need it." Sho shrugged and let out a loud sighed as Mei continued slamming drawers. "Mei, can you calm down and listen to me for a minute?"

Mei slammed one final drawer, finally finding her wallet and shoved it into the pocket of her hoodie and stared down at her laptop, her scowl staring up at her from the corner of her screen.

"What is it, Father? I'm already running late, and I don't..."

"Breathe," said Sho calmly taking a deep breath of his own. "Can you do that?"

Grumbling, Mei did as he asked and took a long deep calming breath and exhaled loudly while her father did the same.

"Are you feeling better," asked Sho after his third long breath.

"Not particularly." Mei pulled her wallet out and flipped through the bills in the center, glad to find that she didn't need to stop by an ATM. "But I am willing to listen a little more."

"Okay." Sho wiped his mouth and tried his best to smile at her. "All I'm going to tell you is to keep calm and don't force anything. She already did the family a huge favor finding one of Dad's paintings, and we both know how hard it is for you to get along with people."

"I could have done without the insult." Mei picked up a half-emptied bottle of water and drained it. "Also what's your point? Harumi already said something similar."

"My _point_ , Mei, is that if she said she wanted to see and talk to you again, you must have done something right and whether it's platonic or possibly romantic shouldn't matter. Just relax and enjoy it. It's a movie and Harumi will be there with you, and you said she's friends with Harumi, so maybe she'll spend more time talking to her than she'll spend talking to you so you won't have to worry about making an ass out of yourself."

"That's…," Mei turned to her father and saw an expectant smile on his face, and she refused to say anything more. "Never mind."

"Mei," Sho shifted in his chair, a chuckle in his voice, "you know you've never had to hide your preferences from us. I mean I know your grandfather wasn't the most open-minded about things like this, but I thought he handled it okay."

"He was very supportive, all things considered."

Despite what people had thought about her grandfather's strict nature in raising her, he had never begrudged Mei when she'd managed to find someone she had a romantic inclination for; not that it mattered given all the time she spent under his tutelage and traveling with him over her summer vacations.

But when she did have the chance, Mei usually found herself in this exact situation.

Practically every time she found someone she enjoyed talking to, she'd get too ahead of herself, and managed to screw it up somehow. Whether it was misreading signs or being too forward, Mei's love life was practically non-existent given her obsessive nature and pouring her energy into finding her grandfather's work, and as she finished her second bottle of water, she sighed as managed to listen to her father's voice.

"He was," agreed Sho as he shifted in his chair and smiled up at her, "and I know I've been a shit father but..."

"Shit is an understatement," snorted Mei after dumping her bottle in her recycle bin.

"That's fair." Sho leaned back and raised his hands in defeat. "I screwed up, and that's why we're in this predicament, but I'm trying to help you so can you please give me one more minute before you storm out the door?"

Mei pulled open her phone and held up her clock app and started the timer.

"One minute, Father."

"All right." Sho coughed and took a sip of his refilled cappuccino before continuing. "I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but the best advice I can give you is to stop worrying about if she likes you. All I want you to do is enjoy yourself and have some fun if you do that, then situations like this will be a lot easier for you and your friends. Can you do that for me?"

Mei looked down at her clock and saw that she was thirty-seconds left and nodded.

"I'll do my best, Father. You are right, for once, and I will let you know how it goes."

"I'm not asking..."

"You will ask. I know you will," snorted Mei before shutting off her phone's timer, "and with that your minute is up. Enjoy your breakfast, Father. I'll speak with you later."

"Have fun, Mei!"

After shutting her laptop, Mei left and had spent the majority of her walk to the theater pondering over her father's words, hating that he was right but knowing that it was indeed the best course of action.

Cramming her hands into her pockets, Mei sighed in relief when she finally saw the sign to the movie theater and trudged forward, kicking a soda can before throwing it in a nearby trash can as she approached the ticket counter and paid.

Once inside, she headed up to the bar of that the theater had and after having her I.D. checked ordered a cocktail that was a mix of Curacao, vodka, and champagne. Mei had to admit it was good, if a bit bitter and noted the slight aftertaste of orange in it with that complimented the champagne. After another sip, Mei ordered a chicken, shrimp, and steak wrap with chips and cautiously sipped her drink while trying to ignore the audio of some reality show that was playing on one of the televisions hanging from the ceiling.

Pulling out her phone, Mei was surprised that even though she'd left nearly ten minutes late, she was still a little early and sent a text to Harumi saying that she was sitting at the bar waiting for them.

Just as she hit send, her food appeared, and the scent of the soy and garlic marinade made her stomach growl and forgetting all pretense, she began eating the wrap eagerly. She finished the first half in only a minute and took a deep drink of her cocktail before picking up the second half. After taking a big bite, Mei noticed that some lettuce dropped down her front and before she could clean herself up a pair of hands grabbed her sides and started to tickle her.

"Hey Mei," shouted a familiar voice making Mei jump out of her seat, nearly dropping her sandwich.

"That's not funny Harumi," panted Mei, turning around, lettuce and sauce staining her chin, glaring at the brunette who was now laughing while Yuzu simultaneously failed to hide her laughter behind her hand and as she stared at the menu board.

"Clean yourself up," giggled Harumi handing Mei a napkin, distracting her from her view of Yuzu.

"You know I hate it when…," Mei stopped, her ears burning as she wiped her mouth and listened to Yuzu order a drink and a tub of bacon popcorn a small smile still on her lips.

After regaining her composure, Mei leaned in and whispered, "Don't do that again, do you hear me?"

"Uh huh." Harumi winked and patted Mei on the shoulder before whispering, "You afraid I'm gonna tell your girlfriend about how much you hate getting tickled?"

Mei's nostrils flared at the question, and she was prepared to tell Harumi off, but Yuzu appeared behind Harumi with a blood red drink and quietly asked, "Everything okay?"

"We're fine," huffed Mei, pulling away from Harumi and straightening her hoodie before stepping back over to her food and drink.

"What'd you do?" Yuzu turned to Harumi and slapped her shoulder.

"Nothing," giggled Harumi before pointing at Yuzu's drink and handed over her I.D to the bartender who nodded in understanding. "All I did was tease her a little."

Harumi reached out for Mei's side, but Mei was ready for her and moved away quickly before sitting down on one of the stools.

"Do that again, and I'm going to leave."

Mei turned her gaze toward Harumi, glaring at her so coldly that all the color drained from her friend's face.

"All right." Harumi raised her hands and took her drink and then a large handful of freshly popped popcorn. "You win, no more tickling or jump scares; scout's honor. Deal?"

"How about you buy me a couple more drinks and then we'll call it even for tonight." Mei held up her nearly empty glass and shook it, and Harumi sighed in defeat.

"Can she get another one of whatever that is, please?"

"Thank you," Mei took a bite of her wrap and then nodded at Yuzu. "Nice to see again, Yuzu."

"Hi, Mei." The blonde took a bite of popcorn and licked a bit of the salt off her thumb. "How've you been?"

"I've been doing well." Mei finished her food and decided to order some popcorn for the movie before returning her attention to the blonde while Harumi perused the menu. "I finished a fair amount of work, added more to my plate, and am still waiting for the police to inform me about the status of my grandfather's case. How about you?"

"I've had a similar week." Yuzu hopped into the chair next to Mei and offered up her popcorn while they waited for Mei's to arrive. "I had to deal with some stuff involving a few clients. I lost one to an agency, which I don't blame him for seeing as how I have to charge a bit more as an independent agent to keep myself in the black and then there's…."

Yuzu stopped talking and looked down at her phone, her eyes growing wide.

"Oh, shoot. I'll be right back; I gotta take this." Yuzu excused herself and answered the call and nervously said, "Hey! How are you? Me? I'm..."

Yuzu walked out the door and Mei could see how relaxed her face was and how happy she looked as she talked to the person on the other end.

"Good thing we're catching the later movie," chuckled Harumi taking another bite of the popcorn. "'cuz she's going to be a while."

"Is it an important call?" Mei watched as Yuzu waved at them before returning to her conversation, looking like she was having the time of her life.

"It is, and it isn't," shrugged Harumi before sipping at her drink. "She takes a call like this every Wednesday and Saturday at exactly seven-forty-five, talks for about half-an-hour then goes on with her night."

"Why?" Mei continued to watch Yuzu, curious as to what was getting the blonde to shake her arms so animatedly as she talked.

"It's not my place to say." Harumi coughed and scratched her cheek. "I know you guys are kinda getting along, but I don't feel comfortable telling you that."

"I understand." Mei gave a polite nod and smirked as she stared down at her phone, hoping that Yuzu would be able to make it back in time and after deciding not to worry about it spent the next half-hour catching up with Harumi and explaining how she was slowly getting back into practice painting large canvas pieces.

"It sounds like the old Mei is starting to come back." Harumi held up her glass and smirked as Mei reluctantly clinked their glasses together. "So you gonna submit anything for us to sell or is it competition piece?"

"It's just practice." Mei yawned and nibbled on a few pieces of popcorn while Harumi busied herself with tossing kernels in the air and tried to catch them in her mouth."I don't plan on doing anything with it."

"You know we'd still accept it," said Harumi through a mouthful of bacon and popcorn. "Someone would still buy it, even if it isn't something you'd consider great."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mei reached over put a piece of bacon into her mouth and watched as Yuzu continued to laugh, wishing she'd brought her sketchbook with her; instead, she pulled the pen out of her inside pocket and began sketching her tub of popcorn, trying to keep her attention on her drawing.

"So, why did you invite Yuzucchi along?" Harumi took another large handful of popcorn and popped a few more bits into her mouth seemingly pleased about something.

"Do I need a reason?" Mei shot a peripheral glance toward Harumi and pointed down at her nearly empty glass.

"Not until you tell me why," Harumi sipped at her drink and grinned malevolently up at Mei.

"Can I get something different, please," asked Mei slowly growing annoyed by her friends incessant questioning. "Whatever you choose is fine by me."

The bartender agreed, and Mei returned to her drawing, ignoring Harumi as the brunette continued to chew on her popcorn loudly, refusing to break eye contact.

"Come on, Mei. Tell me what's going on." Harumi reached up and tried to poke Mei's ear only to have her hand slapped away.

"I told you that if you did that again, I'd leave and you're pushing your luck." Mei's gaze refused to leave her paper, but Harumi could tell by how she was gripping her pen that the woman meant business.

"That's fine with me." Harumi twirled her straw around in her drink, her smile refusing to leave her lips. "Yuzucchi's my best friend so, I don't mind hanging out with her alone, unlike some people."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Mei set her pen down and turned, her face stern as she menacingly rapped her fingers on the counter.

"What I mean is that you're a wuss." Harumi sucked down the rest of her drink and giggled. "You're doing the same thing you always do."

"Enlighten me." Mei took her drink and popcorn and began walking toward the theater with Harumi dogging her every step.

"What I'm saying is you're doing the same thing you used to do back when we were in school." Harumi's pace quickened, and soon she was standing in front of Mei while simultaneously walking backward. "You're doing that thing where you don't know if you like a girl, so you use me as an excuse to hang out with her instead of just asking her how she feels."

"No, I'm not." Mei tried to move around Harumi, but the brunette blocked her every one of her attempts, much to her annoyance.

"Then why'd you invite her?" Harumi stepped up and poked her face into Mei's, causing Mei to take a step back. "I mean you've only talked to her a couple of times so why are you suddenly asking her out?"

"Because you told me to," whispered Mei, while looking over her shoulder to make sure Yuzu couldn't hear them.

"What are you talking about?" Harumi nearly dropped the food she was carrying at hearing that she was responsible for Mei's behavior. "I never said anything about using me as some sort of buffer for you to get into her pants."

"When did I ever say that?" Mei was lucky she hadn't been drinking anything or else she was certain she'd have choked. "What on Earth makes you think that's my intention?! I'm only doing this because you mentioned that I should be nicer to her for helping me and that's what I'm doing. Just because I've found her to be a better person than I initially thought doesn't mean that I'm trying to date her."

"Uh-huh." Harumi reached up and pointed at her ears and snickered. "Your ears are telling a different story Mei, but I'll let it slide for now. Who knows, maybe you're telling the truth, or maybe you're lying. We'll soon find out."

Harumi pointed over Mei's shoulder, her grin going from mischievous to malevolent as Yuzu shouted at them from the end of the hallway.

"There you two are!" Yuzu skidded to a halt next to Mei, her hands filled with a covered drink and a brand new steaming basket of bacon covered popcorn. "You two scared the crap out of me! I thought the movie'd already started!"

"We still got a few minutes," giggled Harumi holding up Yuzu's first basket of popcorn which was still nearly full. "Did you seriously think I ate all of it?"

"Well, this is fresh," pouted Yuzu before bending her neck and picking a few kernels of popcorn; smiling as she munched on them happily. "You can have that basket."

"Gee thanks." Harumi lifted the basket and stared at the grease that was staining the wax paper and shrugged. "Well, at least it's free, and I haven't eaten today, so I guess it's better than nothing."

"Nothing but the best for my bestie," giggled Yuzu as she snuggled up close to Harumi before sneaking a drink from Harumi's glass.

"Hey back off you leech!" Harumi gently shoved Yuzu off of her before trying to steal some of Yuzu's popcorn, both of them laughing while Mei watched this curious display play out.

She'd never seen Harumi act like this before and Mei could only remember a handful of occasions where she'd ever been so engaged with someone. It was back when she was a child spending her summer vacations in Japan with her grandfather while he was on one of his tours and Mei suddenly realized that it'd been almost a year since she'd last spoke with her best friend. While Harumi and Yuzu laughed and chased each other around the hall, Mei pulled out her phone and looked for a number she hadn't called in over a year and typed out a quick message, hoping she'd hear back from the recipient.

"Everything okay, Mei," panted Harumi after finally evading a winded Yuzu.

"Everything is fine." Mei hit the send button and placed her phone back into her pocket and turned her head to see Yuzu panting almost as heavily as Harumi. "I was just sending a text to an old friend."

"Seriously? You have friends outside of me and the others?"

"Why are you surprised?" Mei shifted her drink and popcorn, hoping she didn't spill anything and frowned at Harumi. "You and I only met in high school, is it that hard to believe that I had other friends before you?"

"Just didn't think they'd stick around as long as me," commented Harumi after another long sip of her drink. "Ah dammit I'm almost out. You two go grab the seats I'll be right back."

Mei noticed Harumi wink at her as she ran off leaving Mei and Yuzu and Mei alone in the slowly filling hallway.

"So," coughed Mei as she gestured toward the door to the theater as a large group entered. "Shall we?"

"Sure!" Yuzu smiled up at her and followed behind a group of people. Once inside, Mei began looking around anxiously for some seats, and before she could find them, Yuzu pointed at a few toward in one of the back rows. "Let's get those, that way if we gotta get up we won't bother anyone."

"Okay," agreed Mei without any resistance as that was where she preferred her seats.

"Which one do you want?" Yuzu allowed a few people to enter and interjected when a couple of them sat down in one of the seats they needed. "Sorry, but can you let us have that one? We need it for our friend."

The girl in the group sneered at Yuzu but after seeing Mei standing behind her, decided to keep her mouth shut and moved toward the opposite end of the row.

"What's her problem," grunted Yuzu, taking the middle seat while Mei took the end.

"I don't know." Mei leaned back, glad to see that the chairs reclined a bit as she closed her eyes. "Nor do I want to."

"Oh." Mei heard Yuzu's chair squeak and opened her eyes to see Yuzu staring at the screen as she fiddled with her popcorn.

Mei noticed that Yuzu looked a little put off by the answer and with a slight pang of guilt, Mei picked up her drink and held it out for Yuzu.

"What's this?" Yuzu took the cup and sniffed the drink while staring at Mei. "This a mimosa cuz it kinda smells like one."

"It's a variation I believe." Mei nibbled on a piece of bacon just as the lights dimmed and the commercials began playing. "It's some sort of fruit bitter and champagne I think. It's better than I expected."

Yuzu leaned forward and took a cautious sip and smacked her lips before shrugging and taking another sip.

"I like it," whispered Yuzu leaning over and handing the glass back to Mei. "Wanna try mine?"

"Sure." Mei took the drink and took a long drink. It tasted like raspberry and something else, but she couldn't place it, but it wasn't bad, and she handed the glass back over to Yuzu and nodded. "I think I'll get that next time."

"What'd I miss," whispered Harumi before stopping and staring down at them in surprise.

"Nothing," answered Yuzu, pointing at the seat next to her. "We saved you a seat so hurry up and sit your butt down."

"Sorry," said Harumi as she snuck past Mei, not wasting the opportunity to kick Mei's foot as she walked by.

"What was..."

Several people shushed them, and Mei refused to waste the opportunity to glare at a snickering Harumi who was in the process of stealing fresher popcorn from Yuzu who was failing miserably at stopping her.

"Stop," giggled Yuzu as she pulled the basket away, almost knocking Mei's drink out of its cup holder and into her lap.

"Will you two quit it," snapped the woman behind them, hitting Mei in the back of the head with what Mei could only assume was a tub of popcorn.

"Sorry," giggled Yuzu before handing Mei her popcorn. "Protect this with your life."

"Sure," Mei added Yuzu's popcorn to her own and began nibbling on it as the previews started.

None of them looked that interesting to her, she rarely went to the movies, preferring to watch them as she read a book or worked. She did occasionally host her friends when she had them over for the evening, though the truth was that more often than not they forced themselves into her home and took over her living room leaving her little choice but to entertain them.

Most of the time she didn't mind as it offered her a welcomed break from her work, and it did help ease the emptiness that had been present ever since her grandfather had passed away and it did help clear out any old food she had in the fridge, especially when it came to Matty's bottomless pit of a stomach.

But today was different, and she had to admit that the company had something to do with it.

Usually, the only time she went to a movie was if it looked aesthetically pleasing, which more than not left her bored out of her mind. The last time she'd done that was when she saw a boring science-fiction movie where the only exciting part about it was this idea of people shopping in a parallel universe. She'd walked out of it about an hour in and by that time it was too late for her to get her money back for the time wasted and she ended up spending the rest of her afternoon in Mitsuko's shop. As the movie started, Mei's hand rubbed the very top of her neck, feeling the inked results of that wasted afternoon.

While her fingers caressed her skin, Mei lost focus on where she was and when she felt Yuzu's hand reach for the popcorn she jerked so hard that she sent half the bucket into the air, showering herself and the people in front of her with stray kernels and bacon. The woman and man behind them both groaned loudly and left with the faint hint of a complaint about speaking to management.

"I am so sorry," whispered Harumi to the people in front of them and pointed at Mei, "she doesn't get out much, and scary movies aren't her thing."

Mei felt the urge to smack Harumi upside the head, but the people in front of them said they understood.

"I can't believe they fell for that," whispered Yuzu after motioning for Mei to hand her the popcorn. "The movie hasn't even started yet."

"Well, she wasn't exactly lying." Mei stole some of the popcorn and chewed quietly. "I'm not much of a fan of horror movies."

"Then why'd you agree?" Yuzu took Mei's glass and stole another drink as the movie started.

Mei turned her head and watched as the light of the movie reflected in Yuzu's eyes, and she felt her cheeks and ears turn red before quietly saying, "I have my reasons."

Two hours and several drinks later the three of them left the theater laughing at how horrible the movie had been.

"I can't believe that people thought, that was scary," laughed Harumi, leaning on Yuzu's shoulder as they headed down the sidewalk and pointed at Mei.

"Oh leave her alone," giggled Yuzu, shoving Harumi gently while Mei continued to blush furiously. "You knew she didn't like scary movies so why'd you invite her."

"I dunno." Harumi stepped away from Yuzu and wrapped her arm around Mei's shoulder. "Maybe it's because she's been like this since we first and she's always trying to prove how cool she is and I get off on seeing the cracks in her armor?"

"Get off," grunted Mei, practically shoulder checking Harumi into a store display.

"Easy tiger." Harumi returned the gesture, though with much more force, knocking Mei into Yuzu.

"Hey watch it," screamed the blonde and Mei felt something cold soaking through her sweater. "Dang it, Harumin. You made me spill my drink and look what happened to Mei."

"It's fine." Mei slipped her arms into her hoodie and lifted it over her head before tying it around her waist. "See, just a minor inconvenience."

"All right." Mei could swear she saw Yuzu's face turn red for a moment but was sure it was just a trick of the street lights. "I'm still sorry that it happened."

Yuzu's eyes turned to Harumi who was suddenly interested in something on her phone.

"Hey," Yuzu grabbed Harumi by the shoulder and got her gentle headlock, "you need to apologize to Mei for being so rude."

"Fine," whined Harumi before shoving Yuzu off and returning the favor, rubbing her fist into Yuzu's head as she smiled at Mei. "I'm sorry for shoving you into Yuzu."

"It's all right." Mei frowned at the lack of sincerity in Harumi's voice, knowing since the beginning that it was intentional. "But you might want to let her go; I don't think she enjoys you doing that to her."

"She's used to it." Harumi ground her fist into Yuzu's head one last time before letting her go. "Aren't you Yuzucchi?"

"You're worse than Matty," whined Yuzu, rubbing the sore spot on her head. "Seriously are you sure you two aren't sisters?"

"Me and that gremlin?!" Several people stared at the brunette making both Yuzu and Mei laugh at her embarrassment. "Are you sure you sure you aren't huffing the paint your clients are using because I could swear you got brain damage."

"I admit to nothing." Yuzu reached out and flicked Harumi's forehead and giggled before dodging a half-hearted punch.

"Whatever," Harumi smirked and patted Yuzu on the head and yawned. "Anyway, I'm gonna call it a night. Do you need me to walk you home or can I catch a cab or a rideshare or something?"

"I think I'll walk." Yuzu pointed at the large splotch on the sleeve of her zip-up and shrugged. "It's a little warmer out than I thought and it's such a nice night. Plus I need a breather after everything that's been going on lately."

"Is everything all right?"

Yuzu turned to Mei and gave her a cheery smile and nod. "Yeah, everything is fine. I've just got a lot going on, and I could use a break."

"Do you want some company?" In her peripheral vision, Mei could see Harumi roll her eyes, but didn't pay her any mind. "It's getting a little late so it might be safer. Not to mention we did have our fair share of drinks."

"I'd appreciate it." Yuzu smiled and then turned to Harumi. "Are you going to be okay waiting for your ride or do you want us to wait?"

"Naw, I'll be fine." Harumi waved in a manner that told Yuzu that she should get going. "My ride'll be here in about ten minutes; I'll chill for a bit. Take care of her, got it?"

Mei gave Harumi a crisp nod and waited while the two women said their goodbyes.

When the did separate, Harumi winked at Mei and said, "Have a good night you two," in a way that, despite her steadfast denial, reminded the raven-haired woman of Matty.

As they headed down the street, Mei for the first time took notice of Yuzu's outfit and was amazed that Yuzu even owned such a simple outfit. She'd half expected Yuzu to follow Harumi's lead, in wearing a skirt and a lower cut top, but instead Yuzu chose to wear a pair of jeans, a zip-up sweater and a tee-shirt that had some weird creature on it that Mei vaguely remembered from her childhood, and a worn pair of tennis shoes. Her hair was put up in a couple of pigtails that Mei would have customarily thought as childish, but somehow the blonde managed to pull it off.

"Is everything okay?" Yuzu adjusted her purse; her eyes focused on the path ahead of them.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Mei coughed and rubbed her neck and smirked. "I'm sorry if my offering to walk you home was a bit forward."

"Why would I think that?" Yuzu smirked up at her and Mei could see that her cheeks were still a bit red.

"Since we don't know each other that well," Mei began as she brushed some hair behind her ear, "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to know where you live."

"Oh, yeah, that's true." Yuzu put her hands in her pockets and stared down at her shoes. "Well, to be fair, you are a friend of Harumin's, and she's not exactly an open book, so you've gotta be doing something right if she trusts you."

"I don't do that much." Mei shrugged and rubbed the top of her back tattoo. "Honestly if it weren't for her I wouldn't have much of a life."

"How come," asked Yuzu innocently as they waited for the crossing light to change only to apologize. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to pry."

"I don't mind talking about it," said Mei, though she felt an odd pain in her stomach as she tried to find the words. "It's just that, Harumi was the only real friend I had when we were in school."

"Really?" Yuzu looked surprised at this revelation and waved her hand up and down at Mei's clothes. "Who wouldn't want to be friends with this?"

"Plenty of people," Mei smirked and gave Yuzu an awkward sideways glance. "I wasn't unpopular, but too many people looked down on me thanks to my how much money my family has. Then there was the fact that I was valedictorian and I had several art colleges looking at me for scholarships, and a lot of people resented me for it, so they just decided to leave me alone."

"So how'd you meet Harumi?" Mei could see that Yuzu felt terrible for her, but was trying her best not to be judgemental.

"We were in art class one day, and she needed some help, so I helped her." Mei held up her hand and mimicked sketching. "After that, we started talking and hanging out which made me a little more popular but not much, but it got a lot of people off my back, though not much."

"I know how that feels."

"Really?" Mei repeated the same gesture that Yuzu had done to her making them both laugh.

"Shut up." Yuzu gently nudged Mei with her elbow before stroking the end of her pigtail.

"So what was it that made people not want to talk to you?" Mei, her kept her eyes locked on Yuzu, thankful that the streets weren't too crowded, not to mention that she wanted to see more of Yuzu's reactions, hoping that it might inspire her a little later.

"Ummm," Yuzu's cheeks turned red, and she twirled some hair around her finger before saying, "my dad….my dad's a cop."

"Why would that make people not want to talk to you?" Mei knew that most kids at that age didn't have much respect for people in positions of authority, but she didn't see that as a reason to not try and be friends with them or their kids. "I mean, my grandfather may have gotten his start doing protest pieces, but he did always do his best to try and do them within the confines of the law."

"Yeah well, it's a little different when you're in high school and want to go to parties, but no one wants you around because they think you're going to narc on them." Yuzu's body stiffened, and Mei watched as she began chewing nervously on her lower lip.

"So what did you do? If you don't want to tell me right now, I understand." Mei was curious about what Yuzu's life had been like during that time but didn't want to push her too far. She knew that strain all too well, and she didn't want to risk her new friendship just because she was curious.

"I did what a lot of people do; I tried to fit in." Yuzu pointed at her ears and wrists. "The clothes you saw me in last time? I bought them because I thought it would help me fit in and it kinda worked. A few people started inviting me to parties, and I thought I made a lot of new friends. But one day I did something pretty stupid, and it kinda killed my popularity until college."

"What happened?" Mei was feeling particularly invested by this point and hoped her curiosity wasn't getting the better of her.

"I may or may not have figured out a way to get a fake I.D. and offered to...buy some booze for a party."

"Oh no."

"Yeah." Both Yuzu and Mei shared a chuckle before allowing the blonde to continue. "I...got busted. Made it to the liquor store, got the beer, and some harder stuff and as we were leaving one of the cops that works in my dad's department saw me and one of the older kids that was with me, and when they tried to stop us, they ran, and I just froze."

"Were you still holding..."

"Well they managed to run off with the beer," giggled Yuzu as they stopped at a crosswalk. "But I got caught with like I think it was three bottles of whiskey, some rum, and a bottle of tequila."

"That is an incredibly accurate inventory," Mei said somewhat impressed that Yuzu remembered all of that.

"Stuff like that tends to stick with you when you're sitting in a jail cell in a skirt, and a crop top and the only thing your dad does to help you is to allow your mom to bring you a change of clothing."

"So I'd be correct in saying that there's a mug shot?" Mei gave Yuzu an expectant look and grinned when she saw Yuzu's face turn red.

"Yes," grunted Yuzu through gritted teeth.

"Can I see it?"

"No, you cannot." Yuzu turned her nose up and began walking a bit faster.

"Why not?" Mei matched Yuzu pace for pace, thankful for the height difference between them. "I'm not going to tell anyone about it, and you don't have to send it to me. I want to see it."

"I said 'no.'" Yuzu looked over her shoulder, and when she saw that Mei was only inches behind her, she began walking a little faster. "Besides, even if I wanted to show you, it's not like I have it on my phone. It's not something I'm particularly proud of."

"But we were just laughing about it," countered Mei, increasing her speed and was soon matching Yuzu step for step. "I figured since we were laughing it was something you were okay with showing me."

"And I'm telling you that I'm not." Yuzu stopped and stared up at Mei defiantly. "Why should I show you an embarrassing picture of me when I don't get the same from you?"

"That's a reasonable argument," said Mei feeling a bit ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry if I offended you. I just wanted to see it since the only other person I know who's ever gotten arrested is Matty and she had no problem showing off what happened to her."

"I know all about that," sighed Yuzu shaking her head. "Harumin and I were the ones who bailed her out, and she's still paying us back for it."

"You were the one who went with Harumi to get her out of jail?"

Mei remembered that night quite vividly. It had only been a year ago when Matsuri had called her out of the blue asking to come down to the nearby police station saying she'd been in a fight and was being held for a drunk and disorderly charge that was what she had called, "Complete bullshit."

Mei had refused the request and told her to try Harumi or her parents, citing she had several deadlines she needed to make and couldn't be bothered and that if Matty was in jail, she probably was guilty, though it turned out Mei was only partially right. The full story was that Matty had gone to a bar with her friend Nene and some guys had tried to hit on them. Matty and Nene had both declined and which the two guys didn't take too well, causing things to escalate quickly. Both Nene and Matty along with the two male friends that had accompanied the girls got into an altercation with the men where all arrested and because everyone involved had already had a couple of drinks the cops decided to add an extra charge.

Luckily the judge had been lenient and dropped the charge and as an apology, Mei had bought Matsuri dinner one night as an apology, and all was forgiven.

"Yeah, I was the one who went with her," said Yuzu tiredly as they began walking again. "I met Matty around the same time I did Harumin, and since then she's practically been stuck to my hip. But I think that night she wasn't exactly keen on letting me know about it since I'm always on her about getting her act together."

"How long have you known them?" Mei was still amazed that in all the years she'd known Harumi that they hadn't once been introduced.

"Since freshman year of college." Yuzu put her hands behind her back and began doing some weird march as the continued walking. "We were assigned as roommates, and we hit it off right away, we even had similar class schedules, so we became best friends almost immediately. How long have you known her?"

"End of junior year in high school," said Mei quickly. "We'd been at the same school since freshman year, but never really talked until that whole art thing. We aren't close like you two are though, so maybe that's why we didn't meet until now. Of course, we didn't talk that much while she was away at school, so that didn't help."

"But we're talking now," said Yuzu happily as they turned left, "and like they say, 'good things come to those who wait.'"

"Thanks." Mei felt her ears burn at the compliment and said, "But I'm glad you enjoy talking with me, I've been told by several people that I'm rather difficult to get along with. My father included."

"You are rather blunt," giggled Yuzu slowing her pace, "and you aren't exactly the most open person, but that's not a bad thing. It's just who you are."

"Thanks." Mei continued walking but stopped when she realized that Yuzu was no longer following her. "Is something the matter?"

"Uh kinda." Yuzu pointed at a building with large glass windows and shrugged. "This is my building, so I kinda have to..."

"Oy, YUZU!"

Both women turned their heads, and Mei nearly recoiled when she saw a tall, muscular, tanned man dressed in slacks, shirt, and tie waving from down the street carrying a couple of plastic bags and pulling a rolling suitcase behind him.

"Oh my god!" Yuzu's face lit up, and she immediately forgot all about Mei and ran toward the man before jumping at him. "Henry!"

"Careful," grunted the man as he tried to push the blonde off of him. "You know I don't..."

"Aw quit complaining and give me a hug," laughed Yuzu as she wrapped her arms around the man's neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Okay," groaned the man before carefully wrapping his arms around her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming over," sighed Yuzu as she climbed out of his arms and placed her hands on his cheeks. "I would have come home earlier."

"It was a bit of an inconvenience," said the man rather annoyed. "But, you told me you had plans, so it wasn't that bad. Thank you for telling me in advance. Is that the friend you were going out with?"

"Yeah!" Yuzu turned her attention back to Mei and ran over and pulled her toward man. "Henry this is my new friend, Mei Aihara. Mei this is Henry."

"Pleased to meet you," said the man in flawless Japanese.

"The pleasure's mine," said Mei instinctively switching to Japanese and adding a slight bow to her greeting. "Your accent is quite good."

"Thanks," answered the man with an uncharacteristically bashful grin. "It's all thanks to Yuzu; she's the one who taught me."

"And I'm very proud of you," answered the blonde, following suit. "Mei, do you wanna come up?"

"I'm good," said Mei feeling like she'd be little more than a third wheel after seeing such an intimate display of affection. "I would hate to intrude, it seems like you two need to have some time to yourselves."

"It's not a problem," answered Henry, continuing the use of Japanese. "Well, not much of one."

"Henry, you're being rude," whispered Yuzu with a gentle elbow to his ribs.

"Oh." Henry winced and rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Sorry about that, I wasn't trying to be."

"It's fine," said Mei faking a yawn. "I need to go home and finish some work before going to bed. I got a lot of deadlines coming up."

"Okay," said Yuzu sounding disappointed before taking the bags from her companion, looking a little deflated. "Um, I have some days off coming up soon to attend an event. If you got the time would you like to come? If not I understand. Harumin told me you've been working on some video game art and comic books. One of my clients is in high demand for that kind of work right now and...yes Henry I got the samples, they're upstairs."

"Thanks," said the man with the look of a kid who just got what he wanted for Christmas. "I'll be sure to send them a thank you note. That's what I'm supposed to do right?"

"Yeah." Yuzu gave the man an approving smile and squeezed his hand. "But are you sure you don't want to join us, Mei? You can crash..."

"I'll be fine," said Mei rather abruptly making both Yuzu and Henry jump back a bit. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to yell. I'm a bit tired and stressed out, so I won't make good company right now."

"Okay." Yuzu looked nervous and instead of looking at Mei focused on her feet. "Did you still want to maybe come to that event with me though?"

"If I get done with my work, I'll consider it." Mei smiled tiredly at Yuzu and waved at them. "Anyway, I better be going. You two have a good night."

"Good night, Mei."

"It was nice to meet you."

As she wandered down the street, Mei began kicking herself mentally as she realized Harumi had been right in her assumptions and after resisting a particularly strong urge to kick over a sidewalk trash can, Mei stomped down the street, paying little attention to the few pedestrians that were still on the sidewalk. By the time she reached her house, Mei was cursing and when her phone rang she didn't even bother to look at the phone as she answered it.

"What," she shouted into the phone not caring who was on the other end.

"Mei-Mei," said a cautious voice making Mei immediately regret her anger. "Is everything okay?"

"Himeko?" Mei ran a hand through her hair and as she entered her house and slammed the door, not realizing that she'd slipped into speaking Japanese for the second time that night. "What are you doing calling me at this hour?"

"I was answering your text," said her best friend nervously. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I forgot about the time difference."

"No, no, I'm the one who should apologize." Mei sighed and headed into the living room and dropped onto the couch, throwing one of her left leg over the side of the couch while tapping her right foot against the arm. "It's just been a difficult week, and I'm feeling a little tired. It's good to hear your voice; I'm sorry I haven't called you."

"It's okay," said Himeko with a happy sigh. "It's good to hear your voice too. I miss you."

"I miss you too." Mei smiled as she remembered all the summers they spent running around Himeko's family home playing games, drawing, and even attending festivals together. Outside of the friends she had now, Himeko had been the only real friend she had, and she felt horrible for neglecting their friendship for so long. "We need to catch up. Are you going to be heading back to this side of the world soon?"

"Actually," chuckled Himeko after silencing a yipping dog, "I'll be in your area soon for a show and was going to be calling you soon to see if I could borrow the guest room."

"That's not a problem," yawned Mei as she pulled her sweater off before grabbing the blanket she kept on the back of the couch and turned the television on. "I'll make sure to clean it up before you get here. You have a time frame?"

"I'll be in at the end of next month," said Himeko happily. "It's been so long since we've seen each other. Do you think we can spend some time doing sightseeing? I can bring some gifts back for your relatives!"

"That sounds nice," said Mei as she buried into the blanket and stared blankly at the television as she remembered the sight of Yuzu kissing Henry on the cheek. "I'll make sure to get done with all my work before then and keep it to a minimum in preparation for your visit."

"Thanks, Mei-Mei," giggled Himeko excitedly. "What's going on with you? Anything big happening?"

"No," sighed Mei as she felt a slight pang of nausea as the sight of Yuzu getting cozy with Henry played again in her mind. "Just the usual."


	4. Chapter 4

It's been six months since I wrote this and oof I don't know how this is going to go.

A lot...has happened in my life and if you've read my other stories you know what happened if not here's a short breakdown:

Bad depressive state, moved across the country, recently I had a bad head cold, and my grandfather died. That was last week and now my mom has pneumonia! The location I transferred to is just a nightmare, so I'm working on figuring out how to transfer or quit and look for a new job. I'm sorry I left you guys hanging with this story, but I've been thinking about it.

Also I cut this chapter off earlier than I intended. it'll pick up right away in chapter 5 but after 6-7 months of not writing this story...I didn't want to get in over my head and I'm sorting out how I want this conversation to continue and where to take the rest of the story. Sorry if it confused you. I haven't had a lot of confidence in my writing lately so I'm trying to figure out when and where to cut off so I don't overwhelm you all, like I did with my fiasco chapters in "Uncomfortable Truths"

First thing is: I'm thinking of turning this into a book! Would you guys like that? TOTAL retcon on the characters, origins, stuff like that, but...I think it could work. How about you guys?

Second of all: I need help with cosplay for a character called Caduceus clay and Fjord. If you know what I'm referring to, feel free to drop a line.

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Chapter 4

"That should do it," grunted Mei as she tossed the last garbage bag into her trash can, before wiping away some sweat with the towel she was keeping in her back pocket, proud of what she'd accomplished.

It had taken almost five hours for her to clean out the guest room and her back was killing her, though she only had herself to blame.

Ever since her grandfather had died, she'd had no reason to use the room since her and her father had their rooms, so she'd ended up using it as a means of storage for old cans of paint, brushes, and tarps she'd been too lazy to throw away.

Thankfully, most of the items she'd kept in there held no sentimental value, but that didn't make her feel better about it. Ever since her grandfather had died, she'd done her best to keep the house clean, but it had been a wasted effort. That much was evident when she saw the evidence of mice having inhabited the room forcing her to call an exterminator to investigate the house.

It had been an awkward meeting as it essentially forced Mei to admit that her living conditions had fallen further than she'd thought. Once the issues were identified Mei spent a fortune hiring a cleaning crew to come in and clean up the mess she'd wallowed in over the past several years. Though she did make sure to tell them which rooms were off limits as she would be cleaning them herself. Luckily, they didn't ask too many questions, and when they were gone, Mei hardly recognized the house and spent any time she had not working doing laundry and any remaining menial tasks that required her attention.

But finally, after two weeks of hard cleaning, Mei could finally say she was finished and was looking forward to a relaxing shower and a long sleep.

Stretching her Mei let a loud sigh and twisted, only to grunt when she felt several loud pops go up and down her spine.

"That wasn't smart," she groaned, slamming the trash can shut and headed back into the house, clutching her side in pain, though smiling at the fruits of her labor. "But it sure was worth it."

Pulling her shoes off, Mei made her way into the kitchen and took a deep breath, amazed at how different everything looked and smelt. While she didn't care for the lingering scent of lemon, she had to admit it was nice not having to watch where she stepped out of fear of tripping over something and breaking her neck. Grateful for finally being able to relax, Mei pulled a soda out of the fridge before heading into the living room and dropping onto the couch and turned on a news channel.

Barely paying any attention to the report, Mei sipped her soda and scrolled through her phone, looking or any signs of an email or text from her clients, Himeko, or Yuzu.

It had been almost three weeks since she'd heard anything from Yuzu and when she'd asked Harumi about how Yuzu was doing during her most recent session with Mitsuko, the brunette had said she didn't know anything about it.

"I haven't talked to her since the movie," had been Harumi's answer while she messed around with something on her phone. "She's been busy lately and had to meet with a bunch of her clients and had to head out of town to meet with one of the companies that use her to scout for them. Why? Did you two have a fight or something?"

"Nothing like that," had been Mei's reply, feeling relieved that Yuzu hadn't said anything to Harumi about how she'd stormed off. "I was just wondering if she was okay since I hadn't heard anything either. Is it normal for her to disappear like this?"

"I wouldn't say she disappears." Himeko gave Mei a cautionary glance over her phone and shrugged. "She gets busy this time of year, so I've gotten used to it. Why? You want me to ask her if she lost your number or something?" Harumi's eyes held a mischievous smirk, causing Mei to blush and shift uncomfortably, earning her a growl from Mitsuko.

"Stay still, unless you want me to screw this up."

"Sorry," Mei returned to her original position and avoided Harumi's reflection and began focusing on the familiar, soothing sensation of the tattoo needle, "and no, you don't need to do that. I was just curious, that's all."

"Whatever," chuckled Harumi before excusing herself to go and meet up with some friends.

That had been four days ago, and as she gently tapped her side to stave off the itching her tattoo was causing, Mei pulled up Harumi's number, staring at it, her thumb hovering nervously over the call button as she contemplated whether or not to ask if Yuzu had been in contact.

"Better not," said Mei quietly, deciding that by doing so might make her come off as clingy or obsessive.

Despite wanting to apologize for her reaction and to ask about Henry, Mei knew it was none of her business what the blonde got up to when she wasn't around. Yuzu had no obligation to her and Mei didn't want to impose anything on her that she didn't want or wasn't interested in she couldn't resist reading last text message Yuzu had sent her before the movie.

 _I'll see you there! I'm excited to see you again!_

"She was being friendly," Mei told herself, ignoring the burning in her ears as she remembered the sound of Yuzu's voice saying her name. "That's it, nothing more."

Setting the phone down and cracking open her tea, downing it in a few gulps. When she finished, Mei took a look at the clock and saw she had a good four hours before she had to leave for the airport. Deciding that she'd risk a nap after a quick shower, Mei got ready to climb to her feet until she saw her phone screen light up, followed by the heavy vibrations it made against the oak coffee table.

Excited at the prospect that it might be Yuzu calling her, Mei practically lunged for the phone, but only succeeded in dropping it on the floor.

"Damn it," groaned Mei when she saw it slide under the couch.

With a pained grunt, she got to the ground and being careful not to agitate her still healing tattoo, she grabbed her phone, recognizing the number as HImeko's and answered it with a worried, "Hello? Himeko?"

"Mei-Mei!"

On impulse, Mei's head jerked away from the phone, but in doing so, she hit her head on the underside of the coffee table causing her to howl out in pain.

"Mei-Mei are you all right," she heard Himeko's worried voice shout from the other end. "What happened?"

"Stop yelling, please," winced Mei as she felt the back of her head, already feeling a welt starting to form. "I hit my head on the coffee table, I'm fine."

"Are you sure," cried Himeko, her voice still elevated but a great deal lower than it had been. "It sounded painful."

"It's nothing I can't handle."

Climbing to her feet, Mei returned to the kitchen and after grabbing an ice pack asked, "What about you? Is everything okay? Did your flight get delayed."

"Not exactly," chuckled Himeko over what sounded like two dogs. "Shush Pucchi, Yukio. I know you're excited to see Auntie Mei-Mei, but you need to keep it down."

Mei smirked when she heard a few whimpers and the sound of a voice saying something to Himeko.

"That's very kind of you," answered Himeko in heavily accented English, "but we'll be getting out soon, and I can handle them. Oh, why thank you."

"What happened?" Mei shifted the ice pack and winced, but sighed in relief as the coolness. "The cab driver didn't ask you out did he?"

"Very funny" giggled Himeko in Japanese. Mei could hear the sound of a door opening but a lack of traffic and wondered where Himeko was. "He gave me a card for a cafe that caters to dogs, and I'm thinking of visiting it when I have the time."

"Well let me know where it is, and maybe we can plan a trip there when we both have time off." Mei filled a glass with some water, sipped it after popping a couple of aspirin in her mouth. "Where are you anyway? Did you have to stay overnight somewhere? Did your flight get delayed?"

"Umm no," giggled Himeko. "I'm almost at your front door believe it or not."

"No, you…."

Mei stopped short as the muffled sound of barking dogs echoed through the front windows followed by a loud knock.

"I hate you," laughed Mei, hanging up the phone just as Himeko began to laugh; her feet moving her subconsciously toward the door.

Her hand extended, shaking in excitement at finally being able to see her best friend after almost six years. A smile was affixed firmly to her face as she reached for the handle, pressing it down before she pulled open the massive slab of wood. The first thing she heard was the loud, shrill barks of the two small purebred dogs Himeko had brought with her almost everywhere, followed by the excited scream of her best friend and her vision being obstructed by a frilly, bright pink dress, spiraled hair, a large, bushy pair of eyebrows, and what felt like a wrecking ball slamming into her chest.

"Mei-Mei," squealed Himeko as they tumbled to the ground as the dogs ran around them, barking excitedly as they climbed over Mei and their owner, leaving tiny scratches on their arms in an attempt to lick them. "It's been so long! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too." Mei did her best to hug the wriggling mass that was her best friend while trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her side and head.

"How are you," asked Himeko, straddling Mei and staring down at her while the dogs sat on either side of her friend's head. "I didn't hurt you did I? Did you hit your head again?"

"No, my head is fine," said Mei trying to sound reassuring, her face turning red when she realized the position they were in. "But I'd appreciate it if you got off of me, you're hurting my side. Not to mention how this would look if someone were to walk in on us."

"What?" Himeko sat up and looked down at how she was sitting, her face turning as bright as her dress when she saw how she had positioned her legs.

"So...sorry," stammered Himeko before sliding off of Mei and returning to the door so she could bring in one of her suitcases.

"It's okay." Mei winced as she stood up, holding her side as she helped Himeko with her luggage. "What are you doing here, I thought you wouldn't be here until this evening? I had everything planned out."

"I managed to catch an earlier flight," giggled Himeko before reaching into her purse and pulling out a couple of treats, catching both of her dogs attention. "Which is beneficial for me since it gives me a little more time to prepare them for the show and to check out the competition."

"Is this a big competition," asked Mei, watching as Himeko put the dogs through a short series of routines, unaware that she had slipped into Japanese, "or are you meeting clients that are interested in your next litter?"

"It's not a big competition," answered Himeko once she was satisfied with the dog's behavior, "but it is important. It's a gateway competition, and if either of them places well, I will be able to come back for the one in New York, and I might even be able to go to England. Well, I mean I'll be able to go regardless, considering I'm handling two major competitors in both. But I'd also like to go with my dogs, not just as someone else's trainer."

"You'll get there," said Mei patting Himeko's head gingerly.

"You think so?" Himeko stood up and turned to Mei, eyes watering. "Do you think I'll be able to make it?"

"Well if you handle Pucchi and Yukio the same way you handle your client's dogs, I have no reason to doubt that you'll be able to make it."

"Thanks, Mei-Mei," said Himeko, wiping away a tear, "it means a lot to hear….wait...what did you mean by 'the way I handle my client's dogs'?!"

"That you're good at your job," replied Mei, rubbing her nose with her finger. "You know, like the way you lead that big shaggy dog, I think it was called a Wolfhound, around the floor or that German Shepard. I don't understand it but you..."

"You watched that?!"

Mei took a step back as Himeko's face flooded her vision and barely avoided stepping on the dogs.

"Please stop yelling," asked Mei quietly while gently pushing Himeko off of her. "You're making my headache worse, and yes I saw it. Your parents sent me an email about it, and I had a little free time between jobs when it aired so I spent a couple of days watching it. It was...interesting. I never knew the judges had to _touch_ the dogs so much."

"It takes some getting used to," giggled Himeko when she saw Mei's face turn a little red, looking down at Pucchi who had made a spot for himself underneath the hallway side table, a glum look clouding her face. "Especially for him. He got disqualified in his first competition last year because he bit the judge when he started inspecting him."

"What happened after that," asked Mei, taking a step toward Himeko and placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, squeezing it when she felt how violently it was shaking. "Did...are you in trouble?"

"It depends on who you talk to," sniffed Himeko, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. "But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I had some ulterior motives when I asked you to stay with you. You see...I..."

"Let's take this to the living room," said Mei, gesturing toward the couch when she saw how raw her friend's eyes were. "You've had a long trip, and I'll make you some tea or would you like something else?"

"Tea would be lovely." Himeko tried to smile but only managed a weak grin. "Also, could I possibly trouble you for a cool towel?"

"Sure." Mei placed her hand on the small of Himeko's back and led her into the living room, with the dogs hot on their heels, their nails clicking on the hardwood floor as they panted excitedly.

After making sure Himeko and the dogs were comfortable, Mei headed to the kitchen and prepared the tea and towel while grabbing a few of Himeko's favorite snacks. When she returned to the living room, Mei was surprised to find that her friend had sunk so far into the couch that she looked like she was about to be swallowed by it.

"Here we are." Mei set the tray down and cautiously lifted Pucchi off Himeko's lap and set him next to Yukio, causing the female dog to growl while Pucchi nuzzled and licked Himeko's arm.

"Help me up," sighed Himeko holding her hands out. "Please?"

"All right," grunted Mei taking her friend's hands and feeling the familiar twinge of pain in her side but fought through it so she could attend to her friend's needs. When she was upright, Mei gave Himeko the towel before preparing the tea.

"Thanks, Mei-Mei," sighed Himeko, as she adjusted herself and wiped her face, letting out a satisfied sigh as the coolness of the towel soaked into her raw skin. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect to talk about this right when I showed up."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Mei gave Himeko the warmest smile she could as she poured the tea. "I've missed talking to you. I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch more, and from the look of it you've wanted to talk about this for a while, so please don't hold back."

Himeko accepted the tea and snapped up one of the cookies Mei had put on the table. She bit into it and chewed it slowly, her eyes surveying the living room while Mei sat patiently, drinking her tea waiting for her friend to answer.

"The house looks a lot cleaner than when I was last here," said Himeko, noticing how clean everything was. "Have you hired a housekeeper?"

"I'm thinking about it," sighed Mei, knowing that Himeko was staving off her explanation. "I hired a cleaning company after I started cleaning the guestroom. It was disgusting, and I didn't want you to see that.I'm sure my grandfather and father would be ashamed of how I treated the house."

"I see," said Himeko sipping her tea and sighing. "But doesn't your father visit you occasionally? Wouldn't he have said something?"

"He does visit, but it's normally only for a night or when I'm out of town." Mei gulped her tea and set her mug down and moved a little closer to Himeko. "If he does show up, the most I see of him are some flowers or a gift on the kitchen table. But that's beside the point, Himeko so please stop dodging my question and answer me. Are you in trouble or is this just a work visit?"

"It's a combination of both," said Himeko over the lip of her mug.

"How? It's all right for you to tell me these things, I won't laugh."

Mei's voice was quiet, but carrying a warmth that only a small number of people managed to coax out of her.

Even though they'd been friends since they were children, Mei could count the number of times she and Himeko had fought on one hand. The last time being when they were twelve when Mei had visited Japan with her grandfather for the duration of her summer vacation.

While most people were often amazed that the two of them were friends, but neither of them thought anything about it. Since their families had been friends for generations, the two of them were just naturally drawn to one another and Mei found Himeko's more energetic and positive attitude refreshing, not to mention how well it translated into her work breeding and training dogs.

However, it was Himeko's attitude that always made it easy for someone as socially awkward as Mei to tell when something was wrong, and despite her concern, she found herself getting annoyed with her best friend's aloofness.

As she poured herself another mug, Mei caught a glance of Himeko's face out of the corner of her eye and noticed a stream of tears pouring down Himeko's face as she clutched both of her dogs tightly in her arms.

Setting aside the mug and teapot, Mei moved closer to Himeko and awkwardly put her arm around her best friend's shoulder and pulled her close, where despite the discomfort, Mei felt glad that Himeko didn't pull away.

Instead, Mei allowed Himeko to rest her head against her shoulder, staining it with tears as she cried, "I'm sorry, Mei-Mei!"


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys,

Sorry for the sudden cut off of the last chapter. I'm slowly easing myself into the story, and I'm trying to find the rest of my notes and ideas for this story I have a few ideas, like how to handle Yuzu's dad and Ume being together in a platonic light, as in NO ROMANCE BETWEEN HER AND SHOU! DUN DUN DUN! Also Henry's involvement in Yuzu's life. I hope you guys enjoy it.

GOOD NEWS! I started a new job, so that's fun and I just got a new charger for my laptop, hence the lack of writing and getting too caught up in my life.

But I'm in a better place for now, and things are slowly getting more tolerable. Just wish I wasn't living where I am, but it's better than being out on the street!

And I had a question...if you've read my other story, I was thinking of getting some "adult scenes" drawn when I got some extra money...any thoughts? Or just scenes you'd like to see drawn in general adult or wholesome. Your choice!

Also...Nichijou is weird and march comes in like a lion is terrific.

And this last part is aimed at someone who left a review on "Autumn's Bounty," about where to send fanart of chapters. If you wish to send me fanart you can contact me via Twitter, DeviantArt and instagram under this username with a link. Or if you want to email it to me, you can email it to marteltony2 on Gmail. That's all. If you're going to draw me stuff cool, if you want to do commissions for me, cool, I'm just getting paid from my job and won't have money until next month, but there are MANY scenes I would like to do soon.

Also...Mei has a MAJOR OOC moment but it will make sense. I hope you guys like this! Also NEW CHAPTER WAS FANTASTIC! WOO!

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Chapter 5

Though she was used to Himeko's occasional outbursts, seeing her best friend sobbing uncontrollably in front of her while muttering apologies was the last thing she'd expected.

She didn't know what Himeko was apologizing for, she hadn't done anything that Mei could think of outside of knocking her to the floor, but that was par for the course. Unlike most of her friends, Mei had no problem with Himeko's displays of emotional and physical affection as she'd been dealing with it since childhood, but this time it was different and Mei was at a complete loss.

She'd never seen Himeko this upset and Mei's comforting abilities had reached their limit the moment she'd sat down and offered her friend tea making patting Himeko on the head her last resort as she attempted to probe her best friend for answers.

"Hi...Himeko," said Mei, carefully petting her friends corkscrewed hair. "Himeko, I know this might sound a little harsh, but I need you to calm down, take a few breaths, and tell me what you're apologizing for? You haven't been here for more than ten minutes and you haven't done anything wrong. There's no need for you to apologize if you're not guilty of anything."

"I did too," sniffled Himeko, nuzzling Mei's shoulder causing the taller woman to fidget when the hair made contact with her ear, prompting Himeko to whisper another apology.

"It's all right." Mei took a deep breath and centered herself. "I know it was an accident. But what did you mean when you said you did something wrong? Unless you want to count tackling me in the doorway, you hurt my back more than you hurt my feelings."

Himeko's sobs turned to quiet hiccups as she said, "It's because I lied to you. I didn't come here just for a visit...I came here..be...becau...because...

"What do you mean?" Mei took another deep breath in an attempt to remain calm. Her patience was wearing thin, but Himeko had always been understanding when she was having a difficult time, especially after her grandfather's death and she wasn't about to throw all that away because she was getting annoyed by her best friend's crying. "Himeko, what happened?"

"I got fired," said Himeko, her voice cracking before beginning another round of loud sobs, making both Yuko and Pucchi begin to howl along with their owner.

"What do you mean you got fired?"

Like Mei, Himeko was primarily self-employed and was wondering just how bad things had turned out after Puuchi's incident with the judges.

"You know what I mean," snapped Himeko before saying she was sorry and blowing her nose loudly into her handkerchief. "What else is there to explain?"

"I meant how bad is it?" Mei took a sip of tea to avoid venting her frustrations out on her friend and waited for Himeko to dry her eyes on one of the tissues from the box on the coffee table. "Did you lose all your clients, or are you trying to find new ones?"

"I lost practically everyone I trained for in Japan," sniffed Himeko, her cheeks and eyes red puffy from her sobs. "Even though they said they understood what had happened because they'd seen it happen before. But instead of giving me another chance they said they'd be going with a more experienced trainer, but that they'd still be interested in my next litter. Typical, you want my dogs but you don't want me to train them. They're all a bunch of jerks."

"I can see why you'd think that," offered Mei comfortingly while trying to hide a small snort of laughter at seeing Himeko's pouting face. "But it can't be all that bad, can it? You're parents understand, don't they? I mean you got their blessing to follow through with this and they aren't going to force you to come back home are they?'

Mei knew how much of an influence Himeko's family had in Japan and even though they'd tried to reason with Himeko to forgo her dream of breeding and training dogs. After weeks of negotiation, they'd eventually accepted that their daughter wasn't going to give up on her passion and had even invested some money in the venture which Himeko had repaid in less than six months and had built a stellar reputation for herself until her last dog show. While much of it was lost on Mei, mostly because she preferred cuddling and playing with the dogs as opposed to training them to run through obstacles and do tricks, that didn't stop Mei from humoring her friend any time Himeko wanted to show off the latest trick she'd taught them or, go on and on about her latest litter via video chat and she knew Himeko pampered her dogs just as hard as she trained them.

While she did occasionally get bored watching the dogs get pranced around in front of people like cattle on an auction block, Himeko had been there for her more than the few friends she'd made throughout her school years; which was why Mei had never scoffed or laughed at her friend's dream and always support her in whatever way she could. But if what Himeko was saying was true, Mei was well aware of the ramifications one misstep could have on a career and was willing to do whatever she could to ensure her best friend didn't end up on the street.

"So do you have any clients left," asked Mei, confused as to what Himeko was going to do for work if she'd lost most of her Japanese clientele. "Or do you have some leads on any new clients or are you waiting to hear back and hope they'll change their minds?"

"I still have clients," sighed Himeko, shifting a bit away from Mei so she could rest her head against Mei's shoulder. "But as I said, most of them are only willing to buy from the litters. The only people that will let me train for them are here in America, and I got lucky that they were willing to speak on my behalf to help me get a Visa, but I don't have any place to live right now. I have plenty of money to hold me over for a while, but I don't have any references or...OW! What was that for Mei-Mei?! Why'd you hit me?!"

Mei raised her hand again, chuckling when she saw Himeko flinch at the thought of being struck again only to smile when she saw the look of surprise on her best friend's face when Mei began rubbing her head.

"Mei-Mei?" Himeko raised her eyes, her face beet red at the affection. "I'm confused. Are you mad at me or is this some weird American thing I'm not aware of?"

"I'm not mad, Himeko." Mei moved from patting Himeko's head, and as uncomfortable as she was with it, pulled her best friend into a warm hug. "But the next time something like this happens, don't hide it from me."

"I promise," said Himeko, relieved but unable to do more than allow Mei to hold her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. My parents already told me that this is my last chance and that if I don't make this work, I'm going to have to go back to school on top of them sending me profiles from a matchmaker. Even after I showed them that I'm good at what I do and haven't asked them for any money since I paid them back. I thought they'd given up on the idea, but it seems they haven't."

"I understand," said Mei with a light chuckle. "I went through it too."

"I remember." Himeko snuggled closer into Mei's embrace, and the artist felt her best friend begin to relax. "I saw a couple of your relatives before I left Japan. They still don't want to believe it and asked me to deliver a few profiles for you to look through."

"What did you do with them," sighed Mei holding Himeko closer.

Himeko giggled and moved a little closer while saying in a sing-song voice, "I threw them in the garbage as per your request."

Mei smiled and quietly said, "Thanks," before letting out a loud sigh at the fact that both she and Himeko were still having to deal with such problems and Mei felt herself remembering her own experience from a few years ago.

Shortly after her grandfather's death, a couple of distant aunts and cousins had started to take an uncomfortable interest in Mei's love life and had mailed her several profiles of eligible bachelors in hopes of enticing her to visit them and marry her off. At first, Mei had been polite and told them that she wasn't interested, saying she needed to focus on her career and finding her grandfather's paintings and for a time they did, saying that they understood and left her to her own devices. But eventually, her family began ignoring her requests and it wasn't uncommon at one point for both her virtual and physical mailboxes to be filled with at least a dozen or so letters, despite Mei's protests. Finally after nearly a year and tens of arguments and explaining her initial reasons one aunt had replied by saying that with a husband, Mei wouldn't need to work and could spend her free time searching for them while her husband brought home a salary.

Little did the aunt know that Mei had been sitting with her friends at a bistro and when the older woman had said that, Matsuri had overheard and snatched the phone out of Mei's hand and before Mei could pull it back loudly said, "Hi, ma'am. My name is Mizusawa Matsuri, Matty for short I'm a friend of Mei's. I'm fine thanks for asking. No, it's not common for someone to do this but..."

"Matty, give it back," Mei grumbled only to remain seated, knowing that if she attempted to retrieve her phone, she'd aggravate the healing tattoo on her thigh and cause the younger woman to make even more of a scene. "I'm not kidding. Give me my phone now."

"Mei, be quiet please, I'm in the middle of a conversation," had been Matty's reply making nearly everyone at the table start to laugh, except for Kaio who was doing her best to remain focused on her appointment ledger. "I didn't talk over you while you were talking to her. What was that, ma'am? Oh, nothing I was talking to Mei. Well, I'm talking to you right now instead of her is because we all heard about what happened with those matchmaking….yes I know it is a shame that she doesn't appreciate all the hard work you put into finding those guys for her. Kids today can be so selfish; I mean that policeman you sent her was so handsome. "

At hearing this, Mei's face began to turn bright red, and if it weren't for the fact that they were in a restaurant on top pain in her leg, she would have tackled Matsuri to retrieve her phone. Instead, she was forced to remain quiet and began trying to remove herself from the table while Kaio giggled, Harumi nearly choked on her soda from trying not to laugh, while Mitsuko snorted into her pho as Matsuri began going on and on about how she agreed with Mei's aunt about how selfish she was being.

"Well, I guess that was a bit of an overstatement," sighed Matsuri after biting into a spring roll. "Each generation is different and viewpoints change. I do think it's sweet that you're doing this out of concern, but can I ask you something? Have you ever thought that there might be another reason Mei isn't interested in the profiles."

All eyes were suddenly on Matsuri and everyone at the table began telling her to shut up and give the phone back. But in typical Matsuri fashion, she didn't listen to them and said, "Well, to answer your question I just meant that did you ever think that your niece might, for lack of a better word, be a dyke?"

Everyone save for Matsuri felt a cold sensation trickle down their spine after hearing what the pink-haired woman had said. Kaio's giggles stopped immediately, and her jaw dropped the moment she listened to what Matsuri had said, followed by a dull thud as Harumi's head had hit the table while Mitsuko glowered at her apprentice who was utterly oblivious to everything around her except for Mei's deathly cold glare and clenched fist.

"You know a dyke," said Matty without any concern to what she'd just done, thankfully in Japanese, even though they were all sure that most people in the restaurant understood what the younger woman was talking about, prompting Mei to resist the impulse to stand up and begin pummeling her friend.

"Oh you're not familiar with that word," muttered Matsuri after escaping from Mitsuko and Harumi's grasp while dodging Kaio's attempt to steal the phone back. "Well to make things simple, depending on its usage it's another word for lesbian. You know an onabe."

Before Mei could shout at Matsuri for using something that was often used as an insult on top of the fact that her friend had out her without permission, the painter cut off by her aunt's angry shouts through the phone. Her voice was so loud that everyone at the table, except for Mei and Matsuri, burst into laughter at the chastising Matsuri was receiving forcing the pink-haired girl to practically shove the phone back into Mei's hands. Mei smirked to see that Matsuri's face had turned bright red with embarrassment as she retrieved her chopsticks and began inhaling her food leaving Mei to retreat outside, still upset at Matsuri's presumptive nature and conversation that followed.

When she made it outside, Mei had expected the worst. She hardly knew any of her relatives given her infrequent visits to Japan. She knew that attitudes in Japan were changing but the fact remained that, while she wasn't close to them, she didn't want to risk alienating herself any more than she already had.

As she heard the blood pounding in her ears, Mei chewed nervously on her lip waiting for her aunt to say something and when she didn't she prepared to speak up but was cut off when the woman quietly asked, "Is what your friend said true?"

"Yes," had been Mei's reply, surprised at the lack of judgment in the woman's voice, but she still felt the overwhelming urge to vomit build in the back of her throat. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it's the truth, and I'd appreciate it if you and the others would stop sending those things.

"Very well," answered the woman with a tired sigh and a hint of laughter. "There's nothing to be done about it. I wish you would have brought this to my attention sooner. I could have told the family, and we wouldn't have spent all that time and energy focusing on something that wasn't going to happen."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Mei's temper flared as her mind shifted toward thinking her aunt was about to say something cruel. "If you're implying that there's something wr..."

"All I'm saying is that if you'd told me about your preferences sooner, I'd have introduced you to a couple of lovely young women I know through a few business contacts and friends. I'm not as closed minded as you think and I know we don't have much of a relationship, but I'd hope that what you did know about me would let you place some trust in me in introducing you to people. Though now that I think about it, I'm not sure….what exactly is your preference in a partner, Mei?"

Mei nearly dropped her phone when she heard this question, and after stammering out a response that her aunt didn't need to do anything for her, the woman agreed and asked for Mei's permission to at least tell the family. When Mei gave it, they spent a few minutes talking, and after hanging up to head back into the restaurant, Mei wasn't surprised to find a giggling Kaio standing behind a glaring Harumi and Mitsuko who were both holding a frowning Matsuri by her shoulders, making her look like a giant grumpy cat.

"Say it," growled Mitsuko shoving Maturi toward Mei as a vein positioned just beneath the stem of the rose tattoo on her neck began to pulse violently.

"Why," grumbled the pink-haired woman, pulling the cat-eared hood over her head, trying to hide her face. "I didn't do anything wrong, and if she had a problem with it, she could have done a better job of keeping the phone away from me!"

"That's bullshit and you know it." Harumi gave Matsuri another shove, forcing the younger woman even closer toward Mei who chuckled when she saw the look of fear on the pink-haired girl's face. "Now shut up and apologize for what you did."

"But I…"

"Now, Matsuri." Mitsuko walked forward and pulled the hood down and gave Matsuri's ear a violent tug. "Or you're not getting any shifts for the rest of the week."

"That's not fair!" Matsuri rounded on Mitsuko, the familiar spark of defiance returning to her voice. "Why do I gotta get screwed out of money just because she was too much of a chicken to tell her family!? If you think about it, I did her a favor. At least now her family is going to leave her alone and..."

"That still doesn't make what you did right," barked Mitsuko, her hair blowing gently in the breeze beneath her Boston flap cap while her hoody billowed menacingly. "You didn't ask her permission or anything of the sort. What you did is inexcusable, and if it were me you'd be getting a lot worse right now, so count yourself lucky that I'm only threatening to take shifts away from you. So apologize or consider yourself fired."

Matsuri opened her mouth in protest, and Mei felt a smile on her lips as she watched the younger woman try and figure out a counter argument only to eventually hunch over, nod, and turn to face Mei, her gaze focused on her shoes while she muttered something under her breath.

"What did you say," asked Mei bending down and using her finger to lift Matsuri's gaze to hers, slowly inching closer to Matsuri's face until their lips were almost touching. "I couldn't hear you. Where'd all that usual confidence go? I know you can speak louder than that."

Matsuri's eyes grew wide at Mei's advances and from behind the shorter woman's head, Mei could see a blush creep up Harumi's face, while Mitsuko coughed loudly in an attempt to hide her laughing.

"Come on, Matty," said Mei taking a step closer, "tell me what you wanted to say, please? I'm dying to know."

"I…," stammered Matsuri taking a cautious step back her eyes widening, her face almost as pink as her hair. "I...I said 'I'm sorry," for….for outing you. It was a mistake and, while I don't think I did anything wrong, I know doing that was messed up and I'm sorry. Okay?"

Matsuri's face shifted from pink to red at the uncomfortably playful, almost seductive look Mei was giving her, causing her to loudly ask, "Well aren't you gonna say something? You're freaking me out!"

"Do you mean it?" Mei placed a finger beneath Matsuri's chin and moved closer. "Do you really mean it?"

"Ye...yeah." Matsuri nodded and tried to back away only to be halted by Mitsuko's hand on her back. "Yeah, I mean it okay. I promise it won't happen again."

"Well, if what you're saying is true, then I guess there's only one thing left for me to do."

There was a moment of silence so loud that it drowned out everything until the loud crack that was the sound of Mei's fist colliding with the top of Matsuri's head causing Mitsuko and Kayo to wince, and Harumi to let out a very audible, "Ouch."

"OW," shouted Matsuri while several people around them gossiped quietly about the scene playing out in front of them. "What the fuck did you do that for?"

"Because," barked back Mei, growing to her full height and causing Matsuri to shrink away. "While I do agree that I could have done a better job of keeping you quiet, the fact remains that you knew what you were doing and instead of letting me tell them in my own time you decided to run your mouth!"

In spite of her efforts, Mei felt her voice slowly beginning to climb and even though it was catching more people's attention, she decided that if it got her point across she didn't care and continued shouting, "So, the next time you get the urge to mouth off about my love life, keep your mouth shut or next time I'll shut it for you!"

Even though they all knew it was an empty threat, all four women were so taken aback by the explosion of anger from the painter that even the three women who were on Mei's side nodded out of fear.

"I mean it," snorted Mei as she zipped up her jacket and shoved her hands in her pockets. "You do it again, and we're done."

"I know." Matsuri nodded, a quiet quiver in her voice. "I'm sorry, Mei."

"Good." Mei let out a relieved breath before allowing herself to relax. "Now that that's taken care of I guess I should be thanking you for getting that particular weight off my shoulders, so, I'll buy you dessert. Anything you want, my treat."

Knowing that if she was treating one of them, she would be willing to treat all of them, all four women began barraging her with recommendations on where to get the best possible dessert leading to Mei stopping at an ice cream parlor and two bakeries before returning to her house where her friends proceeded to destroy her living room playing video games and watching movies while gorging on sweets and pizza.

However, in spite of her frustrations with Matsuri, Mei counted herself lucky that her family had gotten off her case about getting married and wondered how she could help Himeko with her situation but wasn't sure how. Mei's exposure to her heritage was minimal at best and what seemed strange to her was perfectly normal to Himeko, and she knew that if her friend followed through with it her parents would find her someone kind and if Himeko accepted it, Mei would support her, even if she didn't totally agree with it.

"Is that what you want," asked Mei while Himeko polished off the last of the cookies, finally managing to free herself from her selfish thoughts about no longer being stuck in such a position thanks to Matsuri's brash actions. "If it is tell me what to do. If it isn't, my answer is the same."

"I don't know," sighed Himeko, her tears now dried, but her eyes and cheeks remained red and raw. "To be honest, I have been thinking about doing online courses. But honestly, right now, I want to relax and figure everything out before I begin work. I have a lot to plan out, and I need to go over a lot of v, but I need a few days to recover. Is that okay? I promise that I'll help out around the house and I'll clean up after the dogs, and if you want rent I can pay you when I'm in town. I know you don't need the money but….."

"Calm down Himeko," said Mei placing a finger on her friend's lips. "If you want to relax, then relax and don't worry about paying any rent. The first two are payment enough along with you putting food in the house. You're my friend, and you can stay here as long as you need to. How long is that if you don't mind my asking? You haven't said anything about where these clients of yours live. Is it out of state since you mentioned that you wouldn't be in the house all the time?"

"Luckily most of them are here in town or only a day or two away if I traveled by train or car," explained Himeko, pouring them a little more tea. "So when I have to work for them they offered to let me stay in a spare room so that I'm nearby to keep up with the training regimen I have planned. Thankfully they're long term clients and the dogs know me well, so it's all preparation and basic upkeep on their training. I won't be gone too long if that's what you're worried about."

"I am worried," said Mei in agreement, carefully patting the itch on her side. "I wouldn't be much of a best friend if I wasn't. You've always been there, even though we've spent most of our lives apart. I'm thankful to have a friend like you."

"Oh, Mei-Mei!"

There was a loud bark from the dogs and Mei felt a searing sensation in her side as Himeko collided with her again, knocking her on the couch and causing her to scream out in pain.

"Are you okay?!" Himeko slid off Mei and began frantically searching for her phone. "Do I need to call the doctor? What's the emergency number for America again?"

"Relax Himeko," hissed Mei as she sat up and lifted her shirt to show off the sizeable geometric arrow made up of circles, pyramids and other shapes. "You just aggravated my new tattoo. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it earlier. I should have said something sooner."

"Yes you should have," huffed Himeko setting her phone down and dropping down on the couch next to Mei and began carefully running a nail along the still healing tattoo. "I don't like the fact that you keep getting these things. You have such pretty skin, but I can sort of see the appeal in them. They are beautiful in their way."

Mei held back the whimper she felt build in her throat but didn't drop her shirt. Despite her tattoo still being a bit raw, something was comforting about her friend's touch, and Mei couldn't resist Himeko when she began moving to the others. First, to the one on Mei's right forearm, it had been her second one, and like her others took the form of a geometric shape, this one being in the shape of a lotus flower capped off with a diamond.

"So pretty," whispered Himeko as she began moving toward slowly toward Mei's shoulder.

"Mitsuko does excellent work." Mei smiled as she remembered the look on her grandfather's face when she'd shown him. The battle between him being impressed at the control and precision Mistsuko exhibited, all while fighting his preconceived notion that tattoos were for delinquents and criminals. "My grandfather even wrote her a letter of praise before he passed, she has it framed and hanging next to a picture of the three of us in her shop."

"I'm sure that made him uncomfortable."

"It did."

They both laughed and after letting go of Mei's arm, Himeko reached up and pulled down the right shoulder of Mei's shirt, exposing a simple geometric tattoo of a teddy bear sitting up with its arms resting in its lap. Unable to resist, Himeko pressed her cheek against the tattoo, kissed it, and said, "Even though I'm not a fan, I like this one the best."

"Why?" Mei did her best to look at the bear, but could only make out the ears along with Himeko's gentle smile at seeing her first tattoo. "It's not particularly complex and it's a little childish if you think about it."

"But that's why I like it most." Raising her finger, Himeko began tracing the crisp, sharp lines that made up the bear. "Even though it has all these rough edges and looks complex, it's cute an even if it's a little tough to understand at times, once you learn about it it's warm and inviting. In fact, it reminds me a lot of you."

Mei watched the blush creep up Himeko's face and felt her ears begin to burn, though she wasn't sure as to the reason. It wasn't the first time she and Himeko had been this close. If she were honest, the only reason she was even comfortable enough with Himeko even touching her tattoos was that she knew how careful Himeko would be, despite her predisposition of clinging onto Mei like a cat climbing up curtains. But there was something different about this time as if something in the back of her mind was telling Mei to push Himeko away while at the same time another part was telling her that it was okay and that Himeko wouldn't hurt her.

But before she could figure it out, Mei's phone began to buzz forcing Himeko to stop her inspection and allow Mei to readjust her shirt and check her phone while Himeko checked to make sure the dogs were settling in properly.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Mei ran a hand through her hair before unlocking her screen and smirked when she saw a familiar number and name along with a picture of a familiar blonde woman, a man with light colored hair and tan skin and a familiar smile, a brown-haired woman with a kind face and the same green eyes as the senders, and of course a tall muscular man waving awkwardly at the camera, a look of uncertainty on his face.

 _Hey Mei!_

 _Sorry I haven't been in touch lately. I'm at home in Colorado right now dealing with some family stuff. After that, I'm gonna be heading to Toronto, Atlanta, and a few other places to deal with clients and strum up some business._

 _Sorry about the picture I couldn't resist sending you one._

 _Harumi said you were asking about me and I just wanted to let you know I'm okay. I feel bad about how we left things, and even though I'm gonna be outta town for a couple months, I wanted you to know that you can message me as much as you want and I'll answer you when I can. Also, Henry will be back in town after Georgia which will be in a few weeks, so if you can remember where my place is, you can head over there and talk to him if you want. He gets lonely, and he is a little awkward, but he's got a good heart. He really wants to get to know you better, and he spent most of that night after you guys met looking you up and according to him, you've_

 _worked on a lot of series he's a fan of and wants to pick your brain._

 _If that happens, let me know so I can set some ground rules since he can get a little single-minded, but I promise you he means well, you just need to be patient with him._

 _Also, my grandma and grandpa own one of your grandpa's scenic paintings, and if you want, I can send you a picture of it. I'll look it over to see if it's an original and if you'd like it back I'll talk to them._

 _My mom and dad say 'hi' and said if you want to hang out when they come to town you're more than welcome._

 _Talk to you later!_

 _Yuzu_

"Who is Yuzu," asked Himeko over Mei's shoulders.

Mei could hear the jealousy in Himeko's voice but ignored it, knowing her friend's bark was worse than her bite and said, "She's a friend."

"A friend?" Himeko's eyebrow raised at the nervous cough in Mei's voice, knowing full well that her friend was hiding something. "Where did you meet her?"

"At Udagawa's Gallery," answered Mei without any hesitation. "She's the one I told you about, the one who found out about the woman who had one of Grandfather's stolen paintings. She's an art dealer as well as a talent agent for artists, musicians, and I think a few writers, I'd have to double check."

Even though she wanted to send a reply, Mei shut her phone off and fought the urge until Himeko wasn't paying attention. While she could see Himeko's expression soften at hearing the favor Yuzu had done for her best friend, it was clear from her voice that Himeko was jealous of Mei's new connection.

"Well, I'll be sure to make her a proper thank you gift. Do you know what kind of food she likes or perhaps I can make her a...no I can't do that I don't have a sewing machine here. Oh well, I'll think of something. Speaking of food have you eaten? Those snacks were delicious, but I haven't eaten yet, and I could go for something more substantial. Shall we eat here or would you like to go out? I did some research, and I'm intrigued by this famous beef sandwich that a lot of websites have mentioned. Also, there's the deep dish pizza, but then there are those empanada things the cab driver recommended..."

"Why don't you go upstairs, get changed, and then we figure out where to eat," suggested Mei, glad that Himeko's stomach had managed to distract her from the text message, though she knew it wouldn't be long before her best friend's focus turned back toward the text message. "You said you wanted to relax and I think a hot shower would be just the thing to help you do that."

"Yes, I suppose that would be the wisest thing to do." Himeko let out a low whistle and the dogs immediately came to her side and followed her out into the hallway.

"I'll show you where you're staying," said Mei, picking up her phone and leading Himeko to the freshly cleaned guest room.

After a refresher tour of the house and showing Himeko how to operate the shower and delivering some towels, she headed into her room and began to get changed but not before sending a reply to Yuzu.

 _I hope you enjoy your trip and that the situation isn't too serious with your family, but if it is, I pray that you get through it safely._

 _Tell Henry that I appreciate how much he enjoys my work and that when you get back, I'll be more than happy to discuss it with him._

 _I have a friend staying with me for the time being, and I'm going to be spending time with her and helping her get acclimated to life in America so I won't have a lot of free time due to that and work._

 _She's spent much of her life in Japan with only brief visits to other places and I'm worried she'll be overwhelmed by the culture shock._

 _I hope your trips aren't too taxing, and I look forward to spending time with you when you get back if that's okay, Henry as well if he wants. I'm going to be working on some new paintings soon. I don't know if I'll be selling them, but if you want to see them, I'll see if Udagawa will allow us to use one of the private showrooms at the gallery._

 _Just let me know and I'll set it up._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Mei._

After rereading the message, Mei felt that it was friendly enough without being too presumptuous and sent it. Once it was gone, she changed into some capris and an old worn tee-shirt that had some faded paint stains on it before heading downstairs. Ignoring the phone as she figured that Yuzu wouldn't reply until much later until it let out three loud dings. Thinking it was her phone alerting her of some deadline she'd forgotten only to have her jaw drop when she read:

 _I get that._

 _Henry can be a little much if you aren't used to him and I hope everything goes well with your friend. I'd love to meet them! I'm sure if they're a friend of yours they gotta be cool and I do want to see your new paintings._

 _I'm excited to see an original Mei Aihara before anyone else._

 _Things aren't too serious but serious enough that I had to fly back with Henry for a bit._

 _But I gotta get back to my family. I'll tell you all about it later if you aren't too busy._

 _Have fun!_

"Mei-Mei," came a voice from behind her. "Are you all right?"

Looking up, Mei was surprised to see Himeko fully dressed in a simple outfit made up of a frilly pink shirt and slacks, staring at her curiously.

Checking her phone's clock, Mei was amazed to find she'd been staring at her phone for almost fifteen minutes.

Putting her phone in her pocket, Mei nodded and said, "Yes, I'm fine Himeko. Have you figured out what you'd like to eat yet?"

"Not yet," sighed Himeko as they headed down the stairs and toward the front door. "I'm still undecided. I think I'll let you pick this time. If you don't mind my asking, did you get some good news? I hope it was good news, you sound like you've had a lot on your mind lately and I don't want to be a burden."

"You aren't a burden." Mei smiled at Himeko's thoughtfulness as she set a specialized alert to tell her when Yuzu had messaged her while Himeko moved close and carefully entwined their arms. "You're my friend, probably one of my only real friends, you'll never be a burden to me Himeko."

" Thank you for saying that, Mei-Mei." Himeko nodded and rested her head against Mei's shoulders, her grip tightening around Mei's bicep, her heart growing heavy at Mei's response and as they turned down the street and toward their dinner. "I can think of no greater treasure than being your friend."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 here we go…

Also...anyone speak Spanish fluently? It's going to be important in a couple of later chapters, and I don't want to use Google Translate. It's only going to be a bit of dialogue here and there. A couple of significant conversations but if you want to you will get spoilers in advanced hey, more power to you and you will have my eternal gratitude and' I'll think of proper compensation for the help.

Or I can just….say someone is yelling at someone in Spanish and then you get to wait and

Not to mention does anyone want to see a love scene or two in this story? If not I'm okay with it, I didn't plan on it, but if you guys want to see it, I'll write it if not we will go on with the story as is.

Soon we shall see the remainder of Mei's tattoos mwahahahahahaha. And possibly some of Mitsuko's, hopefully, that aspect doesn't weird you guys out.

I also hope this isn't feeling weird or unusual to you all. I'm playing with a lot of strange ideas, and it's got me on edge. But, I've been getting some good advice from people and it's helped me a lot. I guess the thing is that I screwed up a possible publishing opportunity once and I don't want to do it again.

I know how people feel about fanfictions and characterizations, I've been writing them for almost twenty years, not that I'm trying to gloat. I use them as a means of experimentation with story ideas and styles, and I know it makes me an acquired taste. But I want you all to know that I do care very much about how I write these stories and want you to enjoy them I always have that in mind.

Sorry, I bet some of you guys are sick of these notes but' here's the latest chapter and I hope you guys like it.

* * *

Chapter Six

"That's interesting," muttered Mei as she lifted her camera and began taking pictures of a flower in the garden at the park she had accompanied Himeko to so she could work on training one of her local clients dogs, a sleek, nearly all brown, Boxer in the section that had been quartered off for dogs.

For Himeko, it was an everyday experience mixing between vocal and hand commands while using treats and a small clicking device in her hand to get the dog to do what she needed it to, all while ensuring her dogs remained seated while she did her work.

But to Mei, a person who'd only seen the fruits of Himeko's labor, it was an impressive sight. Even with all the times she'd seen Himeko show off the progress Puuchi and Yukio had made, Mei had never truly paid attention to what she was missing out on and was starting to wish she had.

She'd always known how serious Himeko had been about her dogs, but even with that knowledge Mei thought of it more of like those pageant moms she'd heard horror stories about, but Mei was glad that she was wrong. As she watched Himeko work there was an air around her that Mei had rarely seen. Mei could sense the focus and determination in Himeko's voice and couldn't resist taking pictures of her. The way her brow furrowed when the dog began to go off course and how her smiled betrayed her when the dog would lick her hand in apology which led to Himeko spending a few moments playing with the dog before returning to work.

As she watched, Mei couldn't resist taking a few pictures which caught Himeko's attention, causing her to lose her focus and accidentally give the dog the wrong signal and causing the dog to take off at a run and leap over the fence and begin running around thinking it was play time.

It didn't take long for them to get the dog back under control, but the incident, along with a stern talking to from park security. After that, Himeko had strongly suggested that Mei go somewhere, which was why she was hanging around the large flower garden, an expensive camera hanging around her neck while taking pictures of petals in the hope that she'd be able to recreate the coloring when they got home, but not before Mei took a nice long nap.

Thanks to Himeko's adherence to a strict training regimen, not only with the dogs she was hired to train, but her dogs as well, Mei had somehow ended up getting swept up in the schedule, albeit not nearly as strict but she did try to wake up and join Himeko as often as she could.

Even though Mei spent nights burning the midnight oil and sometimes sleeping until almost two in the afternoon while Himeko was up at seven preparing a breakfast she'd developed for her dogs before cooking something for the two of them that didn't come from a box, the freezer, or consisted solely of eggs and bread.

Over the past three weeks, Mei had gotten used to waking up to the smell of freshly cooked meat, french toast, or some other meal that Mei hadn't had outside of a restaurant in the past several years.

Not that she was complaining.

Himeko had kept her promise to help keep the fridge well stocked, and when Mei wasn't drowning in work, she offered her what little help she could.

Even though she wasn't completely useless in the kitchen, Mei had only ever learned how to cook simple, but nutritious meals. This was due to her grandfather's waning health causing his stomach to become more and more sensitive the longer his illness went on and while it was filling, the meals weren't all that satisfying thanks to the lack of seasonings allowed. Even after his death, Mei had attempted to modify the recipes with things she found online making them tasty enough that she'd put in the effort to cook them so long as she wasn't recovering from one of her three-day work binges.

Thankfully, Himeko had expected this, and on top of making sure they were fed, when Mei offered to help in the kitchen, their roles became more of a master and apprentice than two friends working side by side as equals and Mei wasn't going to begin complaining. Upon until he got sick, her grandfather had either hired someone to cook their meals or ordered their meals in. Whether it was on his dime, clients, or a meal offered at some gallery event or museum opening, Mei had never had to worry about when and how her meals were prepared, only that she knew where to get them when she was hungry.

For a time after her grandfather's death she managed to cook for herself, but thanks to the legal battles, the theft of his paintings, and her workloads, she'd fallen back into old habits but all that had changed the moment she'd allowed Himeko to move in.

With Himkeo in the house, Mei felt like the house had grown warmer on top of feeling like she had more energy.

And Mei vowed that she was going to put that extra energy to use learning skills she should have learned a long time ago and she had to admit she was enjoying the lessons, even though Himeko was more authoritarian than Mei remembered. She remembered when they were younger how often Himeko would complain about her duties as the vice-president of her high school student council and how her classmates would push try her patience. But Mei knew her friend enjoyed the work, and whenever they worked in the kitchen, Mei could see why her friend's former classmates would complain about her.

Despite her occasional playfulness, Himeko had a demanding nature about her that Mei became privy to any time she attempted to deviate from the recipe Himeko was trying to teach her. When Mei asked why she couldn't, Himeko would give her a long tangent about how and why she shouldn't deviate from the recipe until she knew how to properly make it as it was written.

If it had been anyone else, Mei would have fought back and provided a counter argument about why she should be able to, but when it came to Himeko, Mei couldn't bring herself to for two reasons.

The first was that she couldn't find any real flaw in Himeko's reasoning.

Mei didn't know the first thing about the recipes her friend was attempting to teach her and like any good student, Mei bit her tongue and asked for an explanation and allowed Himeko to explain and help correct her mistakes.

The second reason was that, in spite of Himeko's attitude, Mei could tell that her friend wasn't trying to be cruel or malicious, but instead she was looking out for her and trying to make sure she didn't cook something that would make anyone sick. Even though she wasn't present Himeko knew what happened to Mei's grandfather and wanted to make sure it didn't happen again and Mei couldn't but be reminded of her grandfather. How he'd make sure that she understood why each line and stroke mattered, and how she should understand the intent behind what she was painting or drawing before proceeding. Whether it be for fun, exploring a fantasy, or trying to make a statement.

When she came to this realization, Mei had nearly sliced the tip of her finger off because of the tears leading Himeko to scream in surprise before grabbing Mei's wrist a split second before she'd pressed down on the blade. After a long conversation, most of which was Mei repeatedly telling Himeko that she was fine, Himeko had Mei sit down on the couch and relax while she finished making their dinner before turning on a movie and relaxing for the rest of the night. When they did this, the night typically ending both of them falling asleep on the couch with Mei resting her head on Himeko's lap with one dog resting between Mei's legs and the other curled up next to Himeko, and as she finished taking a picture of a rather intriguing blue and purple flower, Mei was beginning to wonder how much longer Himeko was going to take.

It had been nearly an hour and though she could tell from the way Himeko was laughing that her temper had been calmed but was still keeping her distance. After taking a moment to check on Himeko, using her lens, Mei continued wandering the park, looking for anything that might spark any form of inspiration for her next project.

If it had been a weekday, Mei would have wandered around the park taking pictures of whatever she wanted, but as it was a Saturday she had to be a little more careful. Lately, there had been a bit of a crackdown on people with cameras due to a series of car thefts and other illegal activities so Mei was making sure to focus solely on anything that couldn't be mistaken for her plotting anything illicit.

However that sense of security disappeared just as she finished taking a picture of the way the coins in the park's fountain shimmered in the sunlight, a deep voice asked, "Excuse me, Miss, but what do you think you're doing?"

Mei cursed loudly, earning her some disapproving looks from a few nearby parents with young children while a few teens snickered to themselves as they watched Mei struggle to catch her camera, but ended with her blushing when she realized she'd shortened the strap enough so that she didn't need to worry about it cracking.

But that didn't help the sense of dread that bubbled in the back of her mind as she worried that her outfit might have given off the wrong impression. It wouldn't be the first time, given the dress code required to get into a few of the places Matty and Mitsuko had found. Most of the time they were well-behaved, only looking for some food and a couple of drinks. But now and then, regardless of their involvement, a fight broke out and there had been a few instances where they had to answer a police officers questions.

Other than Matty, and on one occasion Harumi, none of them had ever been involved in any of the disturbances. But that still didn't mean Mei enjoyed talking with the police. While she didn't have anything against the police personally, she barely tolerated them when she needed to discuss her grandfather's case. Thankfully those were few and far between outside of a monthly update on their progress.

But as she heard the voice, Mei's hands began to shake and she felt a bead of sweat drip down her neck as she tried to calmly say, "I'm just taking some pictures, Officer. If you want I can show you exactly what it is that I've...been..."

As she turned around, Mei felt her throat clench shut when she saw the familiar, annoying grin of her father filling her view; his hand raised in greeting as he chuckled at the look of horror slip from his daughter's face. But the longer she looked, the more Mei felt her relief turn to frustration before snorting and shoving her way past him and toward Himeko.

" Are you serious, Mei," shouted Shou as he chased after Mei while the wheels of his suitcase rolled loudly behind him. "Mei, I'm sorry! It was dumb I know, but..."

Even though she wanted to bite his head off for pulling such a stupid joke, Mei repressed the urge and instead picked up her pace in hopes of widening the gap between them but that only strengthened her father's resolve.

"Mei, wa...wait. Seriously! It's hard to keep up with you pulling this thing behind me! Come on, can't you..."

"Will you please be quiet?! You're making a scene!"

After shouting her retort at her father, Mei felt her ears and cheeks burn when she realized how many people were pointing and laughing at the two of them. At first, Mei thought it was because of her father's shouting, but after seeing the Hawaiian shirt, bright blue shorts, and sandals her father was wearing, Mei was beginning to wonder why she'd bothered even turning around and acknowledging the fact that she knew him.

But now that the cat was out of the bag, Mei couldn't do anything but fall into his trap and give him the conversation he was so desperately craving.

"Why are you wearing that ridiculous outfit," inquired Mei after recovering from her initial shock at her father's attire.

"What are you talking about?" As he approached, Shou looked down at his shirt and shorts and shrugged. "I was in Hawaii, helping a colleague go over his presentation on the history of Polynesian art. What was I going to do; wear my suit and tie the whole time?"

"I'd have preferred it if you had worn that instead of this." Mei waved her hand and rolled her eyes before giving a defeated sigh. "But then again you've always done what you wanted so I don't even know why I'm complaining."

"Don't be like that," said Shou in a consoling voice while trying to put do the same by patting his daughter on the head.

"Please don't." Mei grabbed her father's wrist and gave it a quick squeeze before letting it go.

"Okay." Shou nodded and put his hand in his pocket and nodded in agreement. "I wasn't trying to cross any boundaries. I'm sorry."

"If you say so," sighed Mei as she checked the lighting on her camera and returned to walking. "How long are you in town for this time? A few days or are you doing one of your infamous turn arounds and be gone in the morning?"

"A little longer than that," chuckled Shou, hanging a few steps back to avoid causing Mei to run away again. "If you want to know, I'm going to be in town teaching for a while."

"So a month?"

Despite her frustrations with her father, a part of Mei couldn't help but feel a little happy that was in town. As angry as she was at him, she did miss having him in her life. The problem was that she never allowed herself to get her hopes up whenever he came back. The reason being that, because no matter how much he said he loved her and that he missed her, or whatever gift he ended up using to try and show how sorry he was, he would always end up leaving and she'd be left alone.

"Longer," said Shou causing Mei's eyes to widen briefly before narrowing again.

"Are you being serious or is this another one of your stupid games," she snorted several feet away from the entrance to the dog park where Himeko was in the process of getting her charge ready to go home. "Because if it is, I'm not in the mood."

"All right, All right." Shou let out a loud sigh and shook his head before reaching into his pant pocket and pulled out a folded envelope and handed it to his daughter. "Since I know you don't believe me, here's the proof. I was trying to keep you in suspense, but well here ya go in black and white, one of the reasons why I'm back."

Mei immediately took the paper from her father and began to read it.

The first thing that caught her eye was that it was from the Illinois State University's Fine Arts program which didn't surprise her. Her father always had tentative contracts with universities and it wasn't uncommon for him to teach at the college Mei as reading about from time to time though generally, it was in a short term limited capacity. The only reason for that was because while he taught at local universities at the same time, he was also working for local museums doing restorative works; however, this time there was something strange about the contract and it took a moment but Mei eventually Mei realized what it was and couldn't believe it.

Finally, fourth time reading it, Mei managed to process what it said, opened her mouth and said in disbelief, "A year? You're back for a year?"

"Yep." Shou smiled broadly and puffed his chest out in victory as he spoke. "They asked me to teach there for a full year, and they already found me a nice house about twenty minutes walking distance from the campus. Not to mention that if things go well, I could get it extended and possibly even tenured if I do a good enough job."

"I don't doubt that you will," answered Mei, folding the paper back into the envelope and handing it to her father and gave a polite nod. "Congratulations, Father, I'm very happy for you."

"You could at least try to look it," said Shou with a disappointed look in his eye. "This is big news, Mei. I'm back long term; I thought you'd be happy."

"Yes, well, I've spent the last several years feeling the way you look right now, so forgive me if I'm not as ecstatic as you." Mei felt her phone begin to vibrate in her pocket and as much as she wanted to answer it if only to avoid the following conversation. Mei knew that if she ignored her father, it would only steel his resolve to hang around further than she'd like, and he was already beginning to try her patience.

"But I suppose we could go out for dinner to celebrate," she said trying to sound at least a little happy for her father's good fortune and also to try and remove the look that reminded her of a kicked puppy off of her father's face. "I'll even pay so you can pick anywhere you want to go. But we'll have to stop by the house first. I take it you'll be staying there tonight?"

"A few nights, if that's okay." Shou's face had brightened a little at hearing Mei wanting to celebrate with him, which helped to alleviate some of her guilt. "If not, I can get a hotel pretty quick or stay with one of my friends in the city."

"It's no trouble if you stay at the house." Mei felt her shoulders lighten a little at seeing a bit of the spark return to his eyes. "But fair warning that I'm not living alone at the moment so you will have roommates to deal with."

"Roommates?" Shou's eyebrow arched as he spoke and his head tilted as he asked, "Who's living with you? Matsuri? Harumi? Is it that girl you've…"

"Stop it," barked Mei a little louder than she intended causing several people to stare in her direction and her ears to turn bright red and her father snicker.

"I'm sorry," apologized Shou through a strangled cough. "I couldn't resist. You know I didn't mean anything by it."

"I understand it was a joke," said Mei, annoyed that he'd be so brazen in public, "and for your information, that girl has a name but I'm not telling you, and I haven't seen her in almost a month. She's out of town, and I'm almost positive that she's seeing somebody so I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring up the subject. Especially around..."

"Mei-Mei! I'm done!"

Mei had never felt so relieved in her life at Himeko interrupting one of her conversations and couldn't hold back her smile t the look of shock and glee on her father's face at seeing his daughter's oldest friend and her two dogs begin rushing toward them.

While Mei had opted for something practical, a simple hoodie, tee-shirt, and shorts for the unusually warm day, Himeko had gone for a shirt with puffy shoulders and a long frilly pink skirt that Mei was sure was already circulating on the local social media. Either that or for the unusual way Himeko's hair grew and her unnaturally large eyebrows.

"Himeko-chan," exclaimed her father in Japanese, a massive grin on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Aihara-san?" Himeko came skidding to a halt next to Mei and after struggling about whether or not to hug him or bow, bent over in a stiff, jerky bow. "It's lovely to see you again. It's been a long time."

"Only six months," laughed Shou before patting Himeko on the head and then bending down to pet the dogs. "Are you in town for a competition? Or does it have to do with what your parents told me about what happened with this little guy?"

"It has to do with him," said Himeko as she watched Puuchi roll over and allowed Shou to begin petting its stomach. Mei watched Himeko's shoulders slumping at the knowledge that her parents had told Shou about what happened during her competition and didn't know who she was angrier at, her father or Himeko's parents but remained quiet as Himeko continued to speak. "America was the only place where I still had clients who would let me train their dogs, and Mei-Mei was kind enough to allow me to stay in the guest room. But if it's an inconvenience I can..."

"There'll be no need for that." Shou gave the female a quick pat on the head and smiled when she let out a low whimper when he stopped so he could stand up. "If that's your arrangement then I'm not going to intrude more than necessary, as long as it's okay with Mei that I visit the two of you on occasion."

"How often will you be visiting," asked Himeko with a nervous glance toward Mei who was in the process of scratching both dogs on the head, acting like she wasn't paying attention, but both Himeko and Shou knew she was playing possum. "Also, how long are you staying this time? Mei-Mei and I were going to head to the store this afternoon as I was going to be teaching her how to make beef stroganoff. If it's okay with Mei-Mei, you're more than welcome to join us."

"Mei's learning to cook?" Shou's mouth dropped briefly in surprise but shut it the moment his daughter's glare turned on him. "Holy crap, I never thought I'd see the day. That's amazing."

"Is it really that surprising to you that I'd want to learn how to cook for myself," she asked through gritted teeth. "I'm an adult and these are things an adult needs to learn how to do for themselves."

"Well yeah," said Shou, still not fully recovered from his amazement, "but it's just that, you've never...really..."

"What?" Mei's voice grew louder as she felt the excitement of her father finally being home melted away and was replaced by the familiar annoyance and frigidity at her father's lax attitude when it came to her. "I've never really what, Father?"

"Mei, calm down," said Shou with a nervous grin as people continued to stare. "People are staring."

"Do not tell me to calm down," snapped Mei while Himeko attached the leashes to the dogs and collars and carefully pulled them away. "First you sneak up on me and play some stupid practical joke. Then you act like your getting a job at the university is some magical gift when you could have gotten a job like that any time you wanted! And now you're trying to claim something about me that you think is true, even though you've hardly shown an interest in what's been going on in my life in the past fifteen years."

"I wasn't claiming to..."

"Then why did you say it?" Mei walked up and drew up to her full height, not that it was all that imposing seeing as how her head barely reached his shoulder. "Why did you say that I had..."

"How did you know what I was going to say if you didn't even let me finish my sentence" countered Shou, his stance firm but the look on his face clearly showed that he was barely keeping his composure. "Maybe you should let me finish what I'm going to say before you begin to say I was making false claims, did you ever think about that?"

"You were going to say that I never showed an interest in cooking, weren't you," shot back Mei, causing her father's face to turn red. "That's what I thought. But for your information, I do know how to cook. I cooked for Grandfather for months while he was sick, Himeko is just helping me learn to be a better one."

Shou's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to figure out what to say, but ended up giving her a nervous grin and shrugging.

"Okay, you got me on that," he said with a nervous chuckle, failing to ease the tension. "But I wasn't trying to make it out like an attack; I was just surprised. I didn't know you knew how to cook, given how Dad barely ever did anything like that. Hell, the only times I ever remember him cooking were on special occasions for him and Mom so I thought you'd have fallen in the same boat."

"I'd hardly consider that Grandfather's fault." Mei had deflated some, and her voice had returned to its usual timbre, but she refused to step away. "It's yours for never being home."

"I get it, Mei." Sho took a step back and rubbed the back of his head, "and I'm sorry. I should have talked to you about what was going on with the university. But I wanted you to know that I didn't do it for me. I did it for you and because I want to be here. I know I was hardly around and maybe it's too little too, but I at least thought you'd be happy that I'm trying to make a stronger effort. It's selfish, I know, but can we at least try."

"Right now, there are two things I know." Mei took a deep breath and stuffed her hand in her pocket to hide how violently her hand was shaking. "And just so we're clear those two things are that I don't know how I'm feeling about all this except for the fact that because of this, I don't know if I want you in the house at the moment. I can't stop you from taking the job, and in my way, I'm happy that you got it. But I need some time to think this through, and I can't do that if you come back home. So please do me a favor and stay away from me; at least until I can figure this out."

In spite of her anger and resentment, Mei felt a twinge of guilt at the look of pain on her father's face, and for a moment she was reminded of the night he left and how she'd stayed up all night crying on the couch asking her grandfather why he left. She also remembered how much she hated school after that. How her teachers had looked at her with pity and the way some of the kids in her school had teased her once the word got out that her father had abandoned her. The years of loneliness and pain it had caused because he couldn't handle living in the house his wife had died in but somehow managed to live with the knowledge of leaving his only child behind.

On top of that, Mei could barely tolerate flood of memories of nights crying herself to sleep, waiting for him to come home. The feelings of unbridled joy of when he managed to find the time to see her and the sense of false hope that that visit would be the one where he'd finally stay home only to vanish in the early hours of the morning a few days later, leaving her shattered and hiding in her room for days and only coming out when her grandfather came with news that she had to return to school or face expulsion.

But tolerate them she did and Mei managed to blink back the tears that she felt in her eyes as she watched her father nod and say, "Okay. If that's what you want, then that's what I'll do. Is it okay if I give you this before I..."

Shou reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card and extended it toward Mei.

"I already have your information," snorted Mei and snatched the card.

After giving it a look over, her mouth dropped open and let out a low, "Oh," when she saw her father's new position and contact information at the school emblazoned on it, including his new address.

"Yeah," coughed Shou as he reached down for the handle of his rolling suitcase. "That was the other part of the surprise. I figured some proof might be useful if the letter and my word weren't enough, not that I blame you since and that's my fault. But when you're ready or if you ever feel ready, then you know where to find me.

"I'll keep that in mind," whispered Mei, crumpling the card up and shaking her head.

"Right." Shou took an impromptu step toward, his arms instinctively opening before stopping when he saw Mei wasn't willing to do the same and instead raised his hand and waved at Himeko.

"Himeko-chan! It was great seeing you! Take care of her for me!"

Looking over her shoulder, Mei saw Himeko nod and waved back, a nervous smile on her face before looking back down at the dogs

"So hopefully I'll see you sometime soon," asked Shou, a hint of hope returning to his voice only to have it crushed when he saw the piece of paper fall to the ground and nodded before giving Mei one more half-hearted nod, turned, and began heading toward the street.

When he was gone, Mei heard Himeko's voice from behind and turned around, and it wouldn't be the first time she was grateful to see her friend's face since she'd moved in.

"Mei-Mei, are you all right?"

"I'm not sure," said Mei, allowing herself to feel the embrace of Himeko's hand on her shoulder. "To be honest, that was the last thing I was expecting to happen, and I'm not sure if I did the right thing."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Himeko took a step back, but her hand remained plastered to Mei's shoulder, a look of concern in her eyes as she watched her best friend's feet begin to fidget. "Or would you rather we act like it didn't happen?"

"I want to talk about it at some point," sniffed Mei before stuffing her hands in her pockets and giving Himeko her best reassuring, albeit awkward smile. "But thank you for staying nearby, I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here today."

"You'll always have me," said Himeko before moving in and giving Mei a cautious kiss on the cheek. "Remember?"

"I know." Mei nodded and ran a hand over her face and sighed before letting out a low groan when her phone started to buzz. "That better not be him."

"Want me to answer it?" Himeko pointed at the phone now resting in Mei's hands.

"Uhh, no," Mei shook her head and typed out something on her phone.

"Okay."

Himeko reached into her pocket and tossed a few treats to the dogs and watched as a smile spread across Mei's face before catching the glimpse of a man wearing a red and blue superhero outfit with a black webbing and a giant spider on it along with some headphones wrapped around his neck and a pretty blonde-haired woman wearing a green dress, pointy ears, and what looked like a gold tiara and jewelry along with several strange statues, products, and other people dressed in costumes walking around them.

They were both smiling, though Himeko couldn't help but notice the awkwardness on the man's face as he smiled but at the same time saw a smile filling Mei's face and snorted when she heard Mei chuckle.

"Mei-Mei," said Himeko with a small cough in her voice. "Do you want to get going? I know it's still early, but if we want to get everything for dinner and still do the rest of our errands, we should get going soon."

"R...right." Mei's smile disappeared and she clicked her phone off before returning her attention to Himeko. "If you want, there's a grocery store that way that I think will allow us to bring the dogs in if we don't want to head back to the house."

"That would be nice." Himeko smiled down at the dogs and blew both of them a kiss. "They don't get to go to the stores back home, so I think it'll be a nice change of pace for them. Shall we get going?"

Mei nodded but held up her camera and said, "I'll be along in a minute. I want to check these pictures and get a few extra just in case I don't like the lighting. Do you think you can get started without me?"

"Of course." Himeko raised her clicker and gave it a single click, causing the dogs to stand up before tugging gently on their leashes. "All right, you two. Let's let Auntie Mei-Mei work while we go shopping for something yummy to eat."

Mei watched Himeko's retreating back, and when she was confident that she was gone, Mei bent down and lifted her foot and removed the stained and crumpled business card, swallowed, and despite the knot in her stomach slipped it into her pocket just as her phone began buzzing.

Pulling it out, Mei was surprised to see Yuzu's number, and after glancing over her shoulder at the store, Mei accepted the call and said, "Hello?"

"Hey," shouted Yuzu over the sound of hundreds of voices behind her. "Sorry to call out of the blue, but I had to get out of there for a minute. This outfit is way too hot, and there's so many people that Henry is….I know I shouldn't be complaining because I invited him to come, but he's being a little bit of a pain today. But nobody's perfect, right? Anyway, how are you doing? Is everything going okay with your friend?"

"Yeah, everything's going okay with her," answered Mei with a chuckle. "She's been teaching me to cook and it's been good having her around. I've been able to focus more on work and I even managed to make most of my deadlines which surprised a few of my clients."

"I bet," chuckled Yuzu, the ambient noise becoming much less apparent, though she could hear Yuzu telling Henry to follow her outside. "My clients are why I'm in this outfit even though I can barely breathe in it. But that's the price you pay when you're here promoting the people you represent."

"I was meaning to ask you about that," laughed Mei sitting down on one of the unoccupied benches while Henry shouted in the background that he was going to buy a snack, causing her to begin rubbing the piece of paper in her pocket. "Why exactly are you wearing that outfit?"

Yuzu let out a loud laugh but before she came back, Henry loudly said, "Yuzu, they had that soda you like so I got one."

"Aww thanks," Mei heard Yuzu say, causing her stomach to twist into knots. "Can I get a kiss?"

"Okay, but make it quick," Mei heard Henry say, causing her to furrow her brow in annoyance. "I need to go see this costume someone's wearing of Doctor Octopus. Apparently, they made actual moving arms and I want to ask them some questions for my diagrams."

"Okay." Yuzu giggled and Mei heard a gentle kiss. "I love you. I'll be right here when you're done."

Mei couldn't hear what he said afterward but let out a sigh of relief when she heard Yuzu say, "Sorry about that. You now have my undivided attention and I believe we were talking about why I look like some character out of a B-list internet fantasy movie?"

"I believe we were," snickered Mei, glad that she at least had a few minutes to talk to the blonde without any interruptions.

"You sure you want to hear this," grumbled Yuzu after a quiet belch. "It's not a pretty story."

Mei felt her phone buzz, but ignored it and continued to massage the business card as she chuckled, "I'm willing to risk it."


	7. Chapter 7

I have Spanish translators for the later chapters, hurray!

That being said, give me a bit to figure this out because I was _not_ expecting that quick of response in regards to how to approach it but there is a reason for it all I promise you!

As for the chapter, this is a short chapter but the reason is because a few of you requested it and also I had it planned this way, THERE WILL BE MORE MEI AND YUZU TOGETHER GOING FORWARD! I just wanted to establish Mei a bit more because she's the main character this time around and in regards to Yuzu there's a lot of stuff I have to plan and am planning.

THANKS, MEL FOR HELPING ME WITH SOME OF THIS!

BTW the Spider-Man thing had NOTHING to do with Spider-Man Far From Home releasing this weekend. I merely like Spider-Man, and it plays a part in later aspects of the story, that is all.

* * *

Chapter 7

"So where are you today," asked Mei through a piece of toast she'd been using to sop up the egg yolk that had spread across her plate as she finalized a sketch for the cover of a trade on a fantasy series in which she'd been the lead artist. It wasn't her favorite work, but it was fun and not only had the base pay had been incredible but also her royalties, so she wanted to make sure the art was top notch.

"I don't even know anymore," laughed Yuzu before taking a bite of something ended up so hot she began making her squeak in pain.

"Are you okay," asked Mei worried that Yuzu had hurt herself.

"I'll... I'll be fi..fine," coughed Yuzu.

Mei heard the sound of a bottle opening and the cracking of plastic followed by a relieved sigh.

"What did you eat?" Mei was trying hard not to laugh, but she couldn't resist letting out a strangled snort.

"A breakfast burrito," huffed Yuzu before taking another bite, but not before blowing on it a few times. "They said it would be hot, but I didn't expect to burn my mouth. Most places food would have cooled off by now, but not theirs. I'm going to go back before I leave."

"A glutton for punishment," asked Mei, knowing full well that by maintaining a friendship with the blonde she was prolonging her torture.

"Well they impressed me," huffed Yuzu and Mei heard the sound of tinfoil in her ear. "I mean the burrito is pretty good and figured out how to keep it hot even though it's wrapped only in foil. I want to ask them how they do it, and I'm willing to buy as many as it takes for them to tell me."

"At least you have your priorities in order. But you still haven't told me where you are."

They both laughed, and while Yuzu continued to eat her burrito and unpack, Mei decided to let the questions slide for a little longer as it prolonged their conversation, giving Mei a much-needed respite from the stress of her work.

It'd been a few weeks since Yuzu had called Mei during the convention and ever since then they'd spent anywhere from ten minutes to an hour talking almost daily which was a welcomed escape for not only Mei but the blonde as well.

Between Yuzu and Himeko, Mei had almost forgotten about what had happened in the park with both of them finding ways to distract her in their Nown ways. With Himeko, Mei found herself enjoying being home more and spending time with her. It didn't matter what it was; they could be cooking dinner or going to the store, or simply walking down the street, Mei found herself forgetting about some of her problems, though she had a suspicion that there were times Himeko took them to specific places intentionally, despite her claims to the contrary.

Sometimes it was an art museum or a particular store she wanted to visit, not to mention all the pictures she wanted them to take together.

At first, Mei thought it was because she and Himeko had been apart for so long. Most of the pictures ended up being the two of them hanging out at movies or shopping, and while Mei was reticent in her involvement, she did so if only to humor Himeko. They were normal pictures that millions of people took, but after a while Mei noticed that her best friend would sometimes begin texting somebody immediately after when asked Himeko had said that it was a friend or family member back home and Mei believed her for a while, that is until one evening when she inadvertently dug her own grave.

One night, shortly after Himeko had fallen asleep on the couch after they'd eaten dinner and thinking it was hers, Mei reached for it on reflex and hit the button in an attempt to read the text only to be surprised by the appearance of her father's name and number and the text that followed.

 _Thanks for keeping me informed, Himeko, but as I told you earlier, you don't have to do this for me. Mei's made it clear that she will come to me on her terms so please do what I asked and take care of her for me and when she's ready, I'll be here, if she ever wants me to be. Thank you for being there for her when I couldn't._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Aihara Shou_

Mei's first instinct after reading the email had been to wake Himeko up and chastise her for sneaking around behind her back, but no matter how upset she was, Mei couldn't bring herself to do it. Himeko was doing what she thought was right and from the way her father had replied it was something he'd asked her not to do, but true to form, her best friend had continued doing what she could to help try and heal the rift between Mei and her father.

With as angry as she was at Himeko for going behind her back, Mei decided best to let it slide since Himeko did have her best interest at heart. And sure enough, on their next outing, Himeko didn't press her for any more pictures unless Mei asked if she wanted to take one which both surprised and pleased Himeko, yet Mei knew that if Himeko ever found out what she was showing them to Yuzu, she didn't know if their friendship would survive the fallout.

Ever since Yuzu had contacted her during the convention, Mei had started thinking about the shorter woman even more than she already had been and since Yuzu had decided to send her pictures of all the adventures she was having, Mei felt it was only right to return the favor.

Even if she loathed the idea of exposing herself in such a manner.

While Mei wasn't wholly ignorant of the practice of sending selfies to other people, even with her limited social life, she was at least aware of how popular it was among people to post pictures of nearly everything they did. When she thought about it a few things came to mind and Mei couldn't help but feel that it was partially out of thinking that people were interested in what they were doing, but also for the sense of self-satisfaction it gave them in thinking that their lives were satisfying. But to Mei, it felt like a pointless exercise in self-aggrandizement. There were only four people that had ever genuinely wanted pictures of her and with half of them dead and one not being part of her life, the only other person that wanted pictures of her had been the one taking them and filling her inbox. While Mei kept them out of her fondness for Himeko, she figured she'd never had a reason to show them off to anybody.

That is until Yuzu had asked what she was up to during an early morning phone call and when Mei had said she was going to the aquarium, Yuzu had let out such a scream that Mei had to check to see if her ears were bleeding. After making sure she hadn't lost her hearing, Mei had patiently listened through Yuzu's ramblings about all the pictures the blonde had asked her to send.

In spite of her feelings on the matter, Mei did as Yuzu asked and sent her the pictures Himeko had taken along with a few of her own. While her phone was nowhere near as powerful as her camera, Mei had to admit that its camera quality was far superior to the previous model, but nothing would ever replace her camera, or the way the flood of emojis Yuzu sent her in reply made her feel.

The way Yuzu would sound jealous through her words or the series of icons she sent Mei that, while the painter wasn't sure of their significance, made her think the blonde was being genuine when she said that she wanted to go there the next time they were able to hang out.

After asking if Yuzu was serious, Mei nearly collapsed in front of the shark tank when she read:

 _Of course! Why wouldn't I want to? I like talking to you and I want to see you again!_

To which Mei asked after recovering from her initial shock:

 _When are you back in town? I want to see you again as well._

The reply wasn't immediate, which got Mei to thinking she might have come off too formal or expectant.

Though they'd only spent a little time together, and even though their initial meeting happened to involve them down one another's throat, Mei was quickly counting Yuzu among one of the few people whose opinion mattered to her.

What that said about her was up for debate given the state of Yuzu's personal life, but even if it were just in the capacity of being friends, Mei would be satisfied with that.

After a gut-wrenching hour of pacing around the exhibits and checking her phone to the point that even Himeko was getting concerned, Mei finally got the response she was waiting for.

 _I'm going to have to extend my trip by a couple of weeks, so maybe about a month. I need to head up to New York to talk to one of my' client's publishers. Apparently, their parent company is going to shut down the branch their works are being published by and I need to know if the series is still going to continue with them or if I have to start shopping it around and take a hit._

 _But I can't wait to go there with you. I've been meaning to go since Henry, and I moved out there, and I'll make sure that I set it up, so you and I have some time alone to catch up without anyone to bug us._

"I'll take that," Mei remembered saying with a sigh after she'd picked up her and Himeko's food from the food stall while she mentally kicked herself again for getting her hopes up. After stuffing her face full of hamburgers and friesMei returned home and once again got lost in her work for the better part of a week save for her strained conversations with Himeko and Yuzu.

 _At least we'll still be able to spend time together_ , thought Mei as she began hastily chewing on the end of a bit of burnt bacon while she prayed that Yuzu didn't ask her what was bothering her.

"What was that," asked Yuzu through a mouthful of food.

"I'm sorry," said Mei before cramming the rest of her bacon in her mouth. "I was thinking out loud and got lost in my thoughts. Did you finally decide to answer my question? Are you in Toronto or..."

"I'm in Ph...Phoenix," yawned Yuzu before smacking her lips and laughing. "I told you, my flight got delayed yesterday, and I had to catch a red-eye which means I only get to sleep for an hour before going to help my clients out, but I'm not even going to risk that. So it looks like I'm going to be running off caffeine for the next two days before flying up north to Cleveland."

"Sounds like a tough trip." Mei took another bite of toast and swallowed before uploading her sketch to her email and sending it off. "You have to wear any costumes this time?"

"No," giggled Yuzu causing Mei's neck and face to burn red. "I only did that because my client's girlfriend got sick and she was supposed to be wearing that while promoting her series. But since I represent both of them and she ended up spending the day in bed, and I was almost the same size as her, I ended up doing that instead of making new contacts that day."

"That's disappointing." Mei took a sip of her coffee and chuckled when she heard Yuzu yawn and a brief image of the blonde's face flashed in her mind before she wiped it away.

"Not for me." Yuzu stifled another yawn and Mei smiled at the tiredness in her voice. "But if you want, the next time there's a local convention we can go as a pair. I'm pretty sure I can talk Henry into making us a simple matching. I mean he made those costumes you saw us in in about a week so it shouldn't be too hard for him to make a couple not to mention how fun it'd be."

"He made those?" Mei was impressed that the man she'd been so jealous of was able to do work like that in such a short amount of time. "That's rather impressive work for only a week."

"He's been doing it since he was a kid." Mei could hear the smile in Yuzu's voice and felt the familiar beast of jealousy begin rising inside her. "Most of that time was spent making the dress since it was the first time he did it. The Spider-Man one was something he's been making forever so he can crank one of those out in like a day or two. He's got Spider-Man stuff _everywhere_ in the apartment. Thank God we live in such a big place or I'd be tripping over half of it."

Mei felt her ears beginning to burn at how casually Yuzu was talking about Henry, but she managed to calm herself down after repeatedly reminding her that they were only friends and nothing more.

"That is pretty fortunate."

Needing something to do to preoccupy her thoughts, Mei grabbed her dishes and headed into the kitchen and switched over to her wireless headset before starting to clean up her mess.

"But, I don't know about doing _that_ any time soon. I've never been interested in going to conventions, and honestly, I don't know if I ever want to go to one. I'm not a fan of crowds that size."

Over the years, due to her work, Mei had been asked to be a speaker at several conventions, but she'd always declined. She'd seen images and pictures of them on the internet and from Matsuri and Mitsuko who went because of their work and she hated how the experience looked. People standing in lines for a few seconds with people they'd never meet again. The exorbitant amounts of money people would spend on small action figures, not to mention the fact that Mei would more than likely be put into her own stall to sell her works and she wasn't sure she could handle that much attention being focused on her.

"Yeah, they can be pretty nerve-wracking," said Yuzu without any hint of judgment. "I was like that the first few times I went. It can be pretty scary, and if you don't want to go, we don't have to. Let's stick with the aquarium and take things from there. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," said Mei as she finished putting her dishes in the drainboard and let out a loud sigh. "How much longer do you have before you need to head down?"

"About forty-five minutes." Yuzu let out a loud whine and Mei could hear the bed creak. "But I don't want to. I want to stay in bed for the rest of the day."

"That does sound nice," agreed Mei, pushing the creeping thoughts of a naked Yuzu out of her mind. "But you have to work, just like me, so unless you're willing to give up possible revenue streams, I'd suggest you head down there and put in as much time as you can."

"Fine!" There was another loud creak and Mei heard the sound of dressers opening and closing. "You're mean you know that?"

"I've been told that once or twice," chuckled Mei at the pout in Yuzu's voice. "If you want me to stop, I will."

"I didn't say I didn't like it," said Yuzu so quietly that Mei wasn't sure if she was being serious or teasing. "But you're right, and I need to get my butt in gear. I'll talk to you later so we can set up our aquarium visit. Want me to send you any pics from the show floor? I know you've been looking for some inspiration so maybe something there might help."

"Just as long as it's not of someone else's art," said Mei as she dried her hands. "But some pictures would be helpful. I do need a bit of inspiration so just some random pictures of the crowd or selfies or anything you find interesting as long as it's not something that can be mistaken as attempted theft."

"I'll do my best." Yuzu's voice had returned to its usual cheery demeanor, and Mei felt her spirits lift and her smile grow. "I'll talk to you later. Have a good day!"

"You too."

There was a click and the call disconnected, leaving the house silent save for the occasional hum of the air conditioning.

Setting her phone down, Mei let out a loud sigh and was prepared to yell for Himeko to wake up in case she was late for an appointment but stopped when she remembered Himeko had left for Michigan a few days prior to deal with a clients dog and put her own through a preliminary competition.

Upon remembering that she was alone in the house, Mei began trying to figure out if there was anyone else she could spend some time with but as she went through her contact list she became painfully aware of how few personal contacts she had in her address book.

Scrolling through her list, Mei tried to find anybody that was local, but the only ones that weren't business contacts were the people she spent most of her free time with and since it was a weekday most of them would be busy with work. Not to mention that a few were out of town on business and she wasn't about to bother them.

Grunting in frustration, Mei grabbed a bottle of soda from the fridge and poured herself a tall glass before heading into the living. After setting her glass down, Mei grabbed a large, brown, worn teddy bear that her father had left with her grandfather back when she was sixteen and held it tight against her chest with one hand while the other removed her wallet from her pocket followed by a wrinkled business card.

 _Shou Aihara_  
 _Professor of Art History and Restoration_  
 _Illinois State University College of Fine Arts_

Was what it read along with his contact information at the university along with some of his personal information.

Rolling her eyes at her father's lack of concern over his safety, Mei couldn't help but stare at the card.

Despite its small size, the card felt like a boulder in her hand, as if it held every moment of anger and disappointment over the past fifteen years had been poured into the ink before being etched onto the card and yet no matter how angry she was, a feeling of longing wormed its way into her chest.

The need to hear his voice and tell her that everything would be all right, or the way he'd say how proud he was of her whenever he saw her latest piece, no matter how amateurish it appeared. The way he'd smile when he looked over her report card before handing her a few dollars and how he held her and stroked her hair when she was having a bad day and tell her that he'd protect her and now that he was back, Mei wanted to believe him but she couldn't.

She couldn't bring herself to believe him, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself into thinking that she needed his advice. The few times she had tried over the past few years, she'd end up getting angry, no matter how hard she tried not to.

So, as was her normal answer to anything involving her father, instead of calling him, Mei put the card back in her pocket, downed her soda, turned on a movie, clutched her bear tight to her chest, and even though she knew better, she couldn't help but imagine she was holding Yuzu.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 folks, here we go!

Slowly but surely we are getting to the juicy stuff.

I don't know where this is going to go or how long it's going to go for, but we'll eventually get there, and all will be revealed. Well, not everything but just about everything.

I may, or may not, have been influenced by Tan on Queer Eye for this chapter. Maybe a little bit of Johnathan as well, and Bobby, and Karamo, and Antoni...fuck it, Queer Eye influenced this chapter.

Chapter 8

"How do people put up with this," grumbled Mei as she and Himeko barely made their way around a large group of teenagers and headed toward the department store. "Honestly it's the middle of the week don't these people have anything better to do?"

"This isn't so bad," said Himeko before they climbed onto the escalator. "The ones back home are much more congested. I rather like the lack of people."

Mei chuckled when she watched Himeko instinctively begin to check her skirt only to blush when she remembered that she was wearing jeans and a blouse as opposed to one of her usual dresses. Despite no one paying any attention to Himeko, for Mei, it was strange to see her best friend dressed so casually, but she understood the reasoning.

While Himeko didn't wholly abandon her usual attire of over the top, almost gothic lolita style of dress, she'd slowly begun learning how out of place her style was in America thanks to all the people gawking at her as she and Mei walked down the street. So, out of respect for Mei's preference to not be stared at and the constant stream of people stopping her for pictures, Himeko had begun dressing in a less flamboyant manner to avoid any unwanted attention.

Though Mei appreciated her best friend's attempts to accommodate her preferences, she did feel a little guilty about Himeko's sudden change of garb.

During the tenure of their friendship, the only times Mei had ever seen Himeko in what she would consider, "normal clothing" had been when Mei and her family had visited Himeko's in Japan during a vacation, and Himeko had just come home from some school event. Outside of that, Himeko had almost always worn some dress she'd purchased or modified, or in many cases made, and Mei considered it one of her most endearing qualities. Mei admired how, in spite of her uptight nature, Himeko never lost sight of who she was. Even with her recently toned down fashion sense, Mei could still see hints of Himeko's personality making itself known. Which was one of the reasons Mei had requested that after Himeko had come back from her most recent competition that they spend an afternoon going clothes shopping.

It'd been years since Mei had bought any new clothes outside of shoes, socks, and undergarments. So, after her last outing with Matsuri and Mitsuko and seeing their new outfits and how Matsuri always had a beanie or her headphones, or a new bracelet to accentuate her outfit while Mistsuko still managed to work in some new hat, earring, or jacket to wear, Mei was beginning to wonder if she'd fallen into a slump.

At first, she tried to ignore her feeling of inadequacy, telling herself that it was just how her friends were. But when she thought about it, Mei knew there was no point in denying it. Like the others, Harumi always had some new outfit that she was showing off.

Even Kayo managed to find the occasional flashy outfit that contradicted her usually demure appearance which was more for Mitsuko's sake than her own, though Mei never once saw Kayo attempt to hide the marks Mitsuko left on her after a couple after a couple of drinks time she wore some sexy new piece of clothing.

And then there was her father and his choice of clothing and how it contradicted her childhood memories of him. Even though he wasn't as stern as her grandfather, Mei hardly remembered him without a suit and tie when he went off to work, only daring to wear anything remotely casual during the summers to avoid sweating too much and his home attire had been almost identical to his work attire. But over the years, she'd watch his demeanor change along with his clothes, both of them growing more and more relaxed with each passing year. This sudden change in personality only compounded her anger at him and made her even more frustrated with herself as she'd begun to realize that he genuinely had moved on with his life while she remained forever trapped in her little bubble, afraid to do anything outside of her comfort zone.

The only thing that kept her from thoroughly hating him was Yuzu, and how surprised Mei had been the night they'd had drinks and the stark contrast of the professional-looking woman she'd met in Udagawa's office was nothing compared to the cheery energetic woman Mei had gotten to know over the past several weeks. Even though they'd only used text, voice, or video messages, Mei found herself unable to forget the way she smiled and laughed at Mei's abysmal attempts at telling a joke. Not only that, but Mei couldn't get over how excited she got whenever Mei sent her a new picture or a rough draft of a sketch idea or an original painting she was working creating.

But out of all of those things, the one thing that never left Mei's mind was how, no matter what was going on around her or who she was talking to, Mei always felt like she had Yuzu's full attention.

Even when it was just a video chat, Mei couldn't deny the intensity in Yuzu's gaze. How her eyes sparkled at hearing how Mei had had a good day or the way they widened when Mei explained some strange dream that was slowly turning into a painting concept, or no matter how tired she Yuzu always maintained an enamored smile even if she had no idea as to what Mei was talking about.

Throughout all their talks, Mei never felt ignored when she was talking, and even if she had little to no chance with Yuzu thanks to the man in Yuzu's life, the painter was thankful that he'd never be able to take that away from her.

But rather than wallow in her misery, Mei decided that despite her contentment with her life, she knew she needed to move forward and vowed to begin doing that, even if it was only clothing. Finally, after a couple of days mulling it over, Mei mustered up the courage to ask Himeko if she'd be willing to go with her to pick out some new outfits.

When she'd asked, Mei knew that there was almost zero chance of Himeko saying no to her. But what she hadn't been ready for was the violent, nauseating shaking of Himeko's camera phone as she jumped up and down and squealed, "Of course I'll go with you! I'd be honored to help you pick out some new clothes! But why do you want new ones? You've never really been interested in your clothing before. Do you have an event or something coming up? Are you doing exhibits again?"

"No...I'm not doing any exhibits," coughed Mei through her coffee dissolving any excitement Himeko had expressed.

"Why not," pouted Himeko, plopping down on her bed, causing the camera on her phone to momentarily go out of focus. "I know you aren't happy with all of your new pieces, but I thought you wanted to submit a few of them to Udagawa-san to see if he'd sell them? You've been painting a lot more, and I love the one you painted of that sunset or sunrise or whatever it's supposed to be. I can't tell, but I think it's beautiful and I can see it getting some attention in a gallery.

"I appreciate your support, Himeko," said Mei, barely managing a smile as she was trying to hide the blush that had formed on her neck. "But I'm far from putting anything up for sale right now."

"That stinks." Himeko had let out a loud sigh and Mei could hear the dogs growling in the background while her best friend continued talking. "So, if you aren't doing a show or anything, then why the change in clothing? And, even though I'm happy that you want me to come, why not ask one of your other friends? You and I are opposites when it comes to fashion."

Himeko pointed at Mei through the screen, and Mei instinctively knew she was gesturing at the paint stains that were covering her hands, shirt, and arms.

"Not that I'm trying to offend you." Mei had watched the blush form on Himeko's face and grinned. "You know I'm not against your whole faux starving artist look. I, for one, think it shows how dedicated you are to your work, even if you aren't selling your pieces. But if you aren't selling your pieces and you aren't _seeing_ anyone, why are do you want to go shopping?"

"Because of the possibility that one day I might start selling pieces again," said Mei through gritted teeth, irritated by Himeko's comment about her love life. "Not only that, but I do sometimes have to go to meetings with clients, and I don't have any suitable outfits. Even if they aren't as strict as Japan, not all companies appreciate my wardrobe, so in addition to my personal life, I do need clothes to fit aspects of my professional life."

 _Not to mention if I ever get invited anywhere formal by Yuzu_ , thought Mei while she heard Himeko hum quietly to herself as she fed the dogs her unique food blend.

"I understand," answered Himeko without a hint of hesitance. "Those are all good reasons, and I'd be happy to help you Mei-Mei. Are you looking strictly for business or also for personal?"

"Both, although I wouldn't mind if you can help me figure out a mix of it. I think it's called 'business casual.' Are you familiar with the term?"

"Very," chuckled Himeko as she patted her dogs on their heads while they chewed loudly before yawning. "I'll think of a few things, and a couple of days after I get into town we can go and get you some new clothes and make you the prettiest artist in the city."

Before Mei could reply, Himeko said goodnight and hung up leaving Mei standing alone in her kitchen eating reheated curry and wondering what it was Himeko had planned.

"Guess we're about to find out," whispered Mei as she walked through the racks of clothing, hardly stopping to look at them as she knew she'd wander over to her usual section and begin looking for the most basic sets of jeans, shorts, capris, and tee-shirts she could find.

She had to remind herself that today wasn't about that. Today was for her to begin making a change, no matter how little it was and began following Himeko through the racks while her best friend began flipping through the clothes at dizzying speed.

"No, no, no, no, wait that might look good."

Mei watched as Himeko pulled a hangar holding a blue pantsuit with a single button on the jacket before grabbing a black and white pinstripe shirt.

"Are you sure about…"

"Quiet," grunted Himeko before grabbing a small rolling rack for customers and hanged the shirt and suit on it before grabbing a black blazer and knee-length skirt, a red blouse, some black slacks, and several other clothes so quickly that Mei wasn't sure that she had the closet space to hold all of it.

"Now this would look good with this," mumbled Himeko as she grabbed another blouse, this one purple along with some jeans, and a couple of belts. "But we need shoes to go with them. It won't work if the shoes don't go with them. But heels are out of the questions since Mei-Mei..."

"Please for the love of God, don't put me in heels," begged Mei pointing at the imposing pile of clothing. "I'll wear anything you pick, but I'm not wearing heels."

"Relax," chuckled Himeko arrogantly before grabbing one more set of jeans and asking the lady watching the dressing room if she could keep an eye on them for a bit. "I wouldn't dream of putting you in high-heels. I mean I know you can walk in them, I've seen you do it, but I know how much you hate them. However, would you be okay with a small block heel pump? They're only three centimeters, five at the most, and we'll try them on before we leave. I promise that if you don't want to buy them, you won't have to, but can you please to give them a chance?"

"You know I will," sighed Mei as she followed Himeko toward the section Mei usually shopped in. "That's why I brought you; because I trust you. But I thought we were here to buy me new clothes, not more of what I normally wear."

"Well, what good is it buying a new wardrobe if you're only going to buy one type of clothing," chuckled Himeko while Mei began going through the familiar, comforting clothes she'd worn for the last several years. "The first rule about helping someone with fashion is to make sure that the clothes suit the person. I'd be a poor friend if all I did was try and put you in what _I_ think you should be wearing; you have to like the clothes too. If you don't, then there's no point in us going through all this work. So have some fun and pick out the stuff you like too and whatever you buy here we'll find some clothes at home to throw away or donate at the house to make room. Or we can cut them into scrap and use them as rags hor you can use them in some new experimental piece you want to make."

"I never thought about that," said Mei as she grabbed a few new pairs of shorts, capris, and jeans. "Maybe I can find a way to incorporate them into my art; use them in place of my brushes. I wonder how that would look on a canvas."

"You can try that _after_ you find some clothes you like," suggested Himeko, wrapping her arm around Mei's. "But until then you're mine, and I'm not letting you leave here until you find something you're happy with."

Thus began three of the most arduous hours of Mei's life.

She wasn't even sure how many outfits she'd tried on, but Mei knew most of them were things she'd never wear if it wasn't for Himeko's suggestions. While Himeko did have impeccable taste, Mei had a difficult time finding herself liking most of them. Not because they didn't fit. Every item Himeko had chosen fit perfectly with each one tastefully accentuating the high points of Mei's physique, but the fact that Mei could feel the eyes of people on her as she stood in front of the mirrors as she examined how they looked on her was enough to give her some doubts about her decision.

"That looks incredible," said Himeko with a broad smile at seeing Mei wearing a dark blue pantsuit with a set of matching wedge heels she'd picked out and a burgundy button-up dress shirt. "You'll be the center of attention wearing that in a meeting."

"That wasn't what I was going for," said Mei with a blush as she noticed two guys look up briefly from their phones before returning to whatever website or text message they were in the middle of browsing. "All I wanted was something to look more professional in, not something to get their attention."

"Then why wear it if they don't focus on you," sighed Himeko as she took a red and black suit Mei hadn't liked and handed them to a salesperson. "You of all people should know how important those meetings are. Your grandfather took you to enough of them when he was discussing his business, and you said that you needed clothing, so your clients view you as seriously as they view your work. So if we're not going to buy anything, why are we wasting our time?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't buy any of it." Mei pointed at four of the outfits Himeko had chosen that she'd set on a chair she had designated for the ones she was seriously contemplating buying. "But you know I hate being the center of attention in public, and right now, doing this in front of all these people is making me uncomfortable."

"They're only clothes Mei-Mei," said Himeko with a smile and a slight shake of her head as she began slipping a tie around Mei's neck and tying a knot. "Clothes that you said will be strictly for business purposes. The only reason you're the center of attention right now is because you're not in a business setting; you're in a mall. Once you get into a meeting or an event, there'll be people dressed in the same situation as everyone else. Besides if you think this is bad with only four or five people staring at you, remember how many people stared at us when I was in one of my dresses or when Shou-san was wearing that Hawaiian shirt? If you made it through that, you can make it through this. Now, what do you think about this?"

Himeko stepped away, giving Mei a full view of her finished suit and had to admit that she did look a great deal more professional, save for the flecks of dried paint on her hands that she hadn't managed wash off before they left. Beyond that, and with the words of comfort that Himeko had given her, she was ready to admit to herself that no one would suspect her to be a person who had spent the past several years hunched over a drawing tablet, or covered in paint while guzzling down tea, diet soda, and coffee while alternating between paying jobs and indulging in her private creative endeavors while getting sustenance from boxed meals and take out.

"This one definitely suits you," said Himeko as she watched Mei stare at herself in the mirrors. "But the choice is yours, do you want to keep it or do you want me to put it back?"

"I'll keep it," said Mei, straightening up and adjusting her jacket, "and the other ones on the chair too. Do we have shoes to go with all of them?"

"You only need a couple of pairs," said Himeko pointing at the two boxes. "A black pair will go with just about everything you picked out, so you don't need to worry about that. But I noticed your tennis shoes were starting to get a little worn. Did you want to head over to the shoe section and take a look for some new ones?

"Yeah," said Mei with a confident nod as she began undoing her tie and walking toward the dressing room. "Can you find a few more things to go with the other outfits? Not necessarily a tie, but like a scarf or something similar. Just a few things that you could show me how to wear or figure out how to get them to work with my outfits?"

"I think I can find a few things." Himeko gave Mei a thumbs up before retreating toward the accessories.

Once back in the solitude of the dressing room, Mei replaced the suit and began feeling like her old self again now that she was back in her regular clothing and picked up the .suit and smirked as she remembered her reflection.

Despite her misgivings, Mei couldn't help but admit that she didn't look half-bad in it and knew that she'd made the right choice in asking Himeko to come with her. If she hadn't, Mei probably would have taken whatever the salespeople suggested and eventually regretted it and either returned the clothes or donated them to one of her friends or charity. But with all the outfits she'd tried on, Mei could see herself wearing them into business meetings and living up to her grandfather's legacy.

Putting it back on the hanger, Mei exited the dressing room and added the outfit to the pile Himeko had been using and said they'd be back shortly and made her way toward the shoe department, and pulled Himeko away from the accessories and toward their cache of clothing. With one final trip to the sales desk, they deposited the ties and scarves and made their way to the shoe department where Mei found a couple of pairs of tennis shoes and even a nice pair of dress shoes that thankfully didn't have much of a heel to them as they followed a more male-focused design, figuring they'd work better with the suits in place of the heels Himeko had chosen. But Himeko insisted that she practice in a few pairs of heels, and Mei reluctantly agreed.

"This isn't going to end well," grumbled Mei as she slipped on a pair of black hone inch wedge heels and began walking in them. It took a minute for her to find her balance, but eventually, Mei found her stride, and while feeling a little foolish, she decided that it was best not to argue with Himeko and caved after a couple of minutes, adding two pairs to the pile.

"This is more expensive than I thought," said Mei as she began doing some mental calculations in her head. "Have clothes always cost this much?"

"Depends on brands and the style," explained Himeko, as she accepted two pairs of the heels while Mei took her dress and tennis shoes. "But I checked an ad, and there is a deal going on today so you should save a bit of money. I'd have joined in, but I'm still watching my spending until my client's checks clear."

"Do you want me to buy you something," offered Mei, feeling a little embarrassed about spending so much money while Himeko had to be miserly. "It's the least I can do after all you've done to help me, and I do owe you a few birthday presents."

"Maybe next time,' smiled Himeko as they passed by the men's section. "I have more than enough clothing and shoes to last me a life-time. But….Mei-Mei are you all right?"

Himeko's voice barely registered as Mei had become focused solely on a large annoyed looking man with a set of headphones wrapped around his neck, while his hands moved up and down while his nails began scratching his arms as he looked around impatiently.

"Mei-Mei, is everything all right? Do you know him?"

"Kind of," said Mei in a barely audible voice. "I met him a while back when I was out with my friend Harumi and a mutual acquaintance."

"Do you want to go, say 'hi'?" Himeko sounded wary of her suggestion, but Mei knew she was trying to be supportive.

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Mei, clutching her boxes tightly. "Come on we need to..."

"Why do I have to get something like this," grumbled the man at a short blonde woman who was holding out a dress shirt and tie, looking even more agitated than her companion.

"Because you need it for work," huffed Yuzu and Mei could feel her ears begin to burn. "Your boss called me and told me to remind you that you are presenting to a major client on Tuesday and you need to dress a bit nicer."

"Why do I need to dress nicely for people I don't even know," snorted Henry, though Mei couldn't tell if it was from confusion or anger. "I don't even know them, and long sleeves make me itch. Why can't I wear one of my polo shirts and my tennis shoes? Those other ones are too tight, and I don't..."

"Because this is part of what having a job like this entails." Yuzu practically slammed the shirt onto Henry's chest and pointed at the dressing room. "And you agreed to do it when they hired you. We all know you don't enjoy it, but you said you would do things like this if they asked. They asked, and now it's time to follow through, so get in there and try it on."

"But I..."

"I don't care what you want right now," sighed Yuzu while running a hand frustratedly through her hair. "Henry, please. I am tired, okay? I haven't slept in two days, and you and Matsuri promised me you'd do this _before_ I got back, but it wasn't so can you please, _please_ , stop arguing and I promise that I'll ask about the shoes. Can you at least do that for me?"

"Fine." Henry took the shirt and nodded. "But only because I broke my promise."

"Thank you." Yuzu patted him gently on the shoulder, and Henry slunk away while Mei watched Yuzu pull out her phone and begin to send out a text message.

"Is that the mutual acquaintance you were talking about" snorted Himeko, while Mei continued to stare obliviously at the blonde who was beginning to pace back and forth while massaging her temples.

"Yes."

"Do you want to introduce us?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Mei could see Himeko's sights narrow in on Yuzu but shrugged it off as one of Himeko's usual tantrums at the thought of Mei having friends outside of her, knowing that it would be short-lived once Himeko had become comfortable around Yuzu.

But, from the way Himeko was glaring, Mei was confident that it would never happen and from what she knew about their personalities and the giant purple bags under Yuzu's eyes that the two of them meeting wouldn't be wise.

Mei had seen Yuzu tired in their video chats, but from the way Yuzu continued to yawn and the disheveled appearance of her hair and the sweats and tee-shirt she was wearing, Yuzu wouldn't be in the mood to deal with Himeko's confrontational attitude.

"I think we should leave her alone," said Mei firmly. "She's tired, and it seems like she has her hands full, so I don't want to cause her any undue stress."

"Very well," said Himeko, her voice slightly more elevated, which came as a relief to Mei. "If that's all, then I suppose we can finish up the shopping and get some lunch before heading to the grocery store. I may not have a lot of extra money, but I think I can at least cover a meal until Monday."

"Sure." Mei nodded and as much as she wanted to stay, the sight of Henry coming out of the dressing rooms, wearing a blue button-up shirt and a pair of black slacks, his face looking like somebody was stabbing him along with a fire poker while his fingers continued to scratch frantically at his arms.

"Are you happy now," he asked, forcing Yuzu to tear her eyes away from her phone.

Mei watched as she briefly paused and blinked, her eyes widening in amazement before her face lit up with a familiar smile.

"Very," said Yuzu as she pulled Henry's hands away from his arms and squeezed them. " _Muy guapo_. Can I take a picture and send it to..."

"No," said Henry so loudly that a few people jumped, including Mei but Yuzu remained unfazed at his frustration and the way he tore his hands away from her. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"And I hate having to spending my day off doing something that you said you could do on your own, but here we are. You whining and me repeating myself." Yuzu pointed at the outfit that Henry was wearing and tried her best to look pleased, but Mei couldn't tell if she was or not. "But thank you for trying it on, I appreciate it, and it wasn't so bad, was it? It was one outfit, and it took us all of twenty minutes to find so how come you didn't do this? Can you please tell me that?"

"Because they don't carry the clothes I like." Henry pulled at the button that was holding his shirt against his throat. "The shirts are itchy, and they feel too short, and this button around my throat makes it...Yuzu I can't breathe. Yuzu my throat.."

"Okay, okay." Mei watched as Yuzu gently began unclasping the button as Henry started scratching his arms again; only stopping when Yuzu had finished and gave him a gentle pat on his broad chest. "There, how's that? Better?"

"Yeah." Mei watched Henry's grow more relaxed, and his hands stop moving. "Thanks, Yuzu."

"You're welcome, _Lindo_ ," said Yuzu before tapping her cheek. "Can I?"

Henry took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before giving a fidgety nod.

Mei momentarily felt her ears burn in frustration before taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, after reminding herself that what Yuzu and Henry were doing was completely natural.

"Am I done now," asked Henry after rubbing away where Yuzu had kissed, making her laugh. "Or do I need to buy a tie too?"

"You'll be fine without a tie," said Yuzu before yawning again. "Your boss texted me back and said you'll be okay with your normal style shoes but only if they're all black. Is that okay?"

"That's okay," said Henry with a relieved sigh. "Can I get back in my regular clothes now?"

Yuzu nodded, and Mei could see her mouth begin to open, but was interrupted by a familiar voice saying, "Looking good, Hank! You're gonna knock 'em dead at that meeting."

A shiver made it's way down Mei's spine when she heard Matsuri's voice and felt her feet begin moving backward on instinct when the pink-haired girl came into view carrying a small bundle of clothes under her arm and her usual mischievous smile on her face.

"If I did that I would go to prison," answered Henry before pausing and Mei could see his face screw up momentarily before asking, "Was that an...what's the word? Yuzu what is it? I can't..."

"It's called an idiom," explained Yuzu before rolling her eyes at Matsuri who, while smiling, looked a little apologetic at the stern look the blonde was giving her. "You know better."

"Sorry," said Matsuri while Henry busied himself on his phone, seemingly satisfied with Yuzu's explanation and no longer concerned with trying to remember the definition. "But hey, maybe we can make that his expression or whatever it is you guys give for the week. What you think, Hank?"

"My phrase of the week is, 'bent out of shape,'" said Henry handing his phone back to Yuzu who stuffed it in her purse. "But I can make it next weeks since I didn't figure it out yet. I'm gonna change and then can we leave and get lunch? It's almost twelve-thirty."

"We will get lunch after we pay for the clothes," said Yuzu and Mei noticed that she looked a little more energized. "You brought your card, right? And you checked your balance?"

"Yes," grunted Henry as he retreated into the dressing room while Matsuri snickered and turned her head to look around the store and making Mei's worst fear a reality.

"Yo, Aihara!" Matsuri raised her free arm and jumped up and down in a pointless attempt to get her attention. "What the heck are you doing standing over there? Quit being such a creeper and get your ass over here."

"How vulgar," huffed Himeko, stomping over to Matsuri and began poking the younger woman in the chest as she started rambling on in Japanese drawing the attention of a couple of staff members. "How dare you speak to Mei-Mei in such a fashion you foul little thing. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

"Who the hell are you," asked Matsuri back in Japanese, causing Himeko's eyes to go wide. "Also where do you get off telling me how to talk to Mei?"

"How dare you use her first name like that you rude little.."

"That's enough, Himeko," growled Mei, finally stepping in and feeling ashamed that she hadn't pulled Himeko away sooner. "You keep forgetting that we're not in Japan, so it's not uncommon for people to call me by my first name. On top of that, before going off on others about their manners, perhaps you should reflect on your actions. Not just because you were rude but also in the way you approached Matsuri and began accusing her of being rude which, while crass, was the exact opposite of what she was trying to be."

Himeko's face turned almost the same shade of pink as her shirt making Matsuri snicker and Yuzu look even more confused at what was going on.

"Fine," pouted Himeko after a moment and bowed politely to the trio. "I apologize for my actions, and I hope that you won't hold it against me. My name is Momokino Himeko; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Oh well.."

Mei smirked as she watched Yuzu bow stiffly and said, "I'm Yuzu Okogi, it's nice to meet you."

"Matsuri," said Matsuri, not even bothering to return the bow as she was so intently focused on Himeko's hair and face, "and that big goof you saw us with is Henry. Hank! You almost done or do I gotta drag you out?"

"I'm right here," said Henry too preoccupied with handing Yuzu the outfit and tapping her on the shoulder. "Phone, please."

"First be polite and say 'hi' to Mei, you remember her, don't you?" Yuzu turned an annoyed-looking Henry toward Mei and Himeko. "And this is her friend, Himeko. Did I get that right?"

"Momokino, please," snorted Himeko before extending her hand to Henry. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Hi." Henry reached out and shook Himeko's hand rather quickly before letting go and turning to Mei.

"Hi, Mei."

"Hello, Henry," said Mei a little more warmly than she'd intended. "Are you enjoying your afternoon?"

"No," said Henry looking slightly less agitated. "It's Saturday, and I'm supposed to be at home, but Yuzu made me come out and do clothes shopping even though she knows I hate it."

"We heard," coughed Mei blushing at the look of amazement Yuzu was giving her and Matsuri's snickering. "But if it makes you feel better, I'm doing the same thing, and I hate it almost as much as you do."

"Yeah, it's annoying." Henry gave a nervous chuckle before his face shifted back to a neutral position leaving the group in an uncomfortable silence save for Matsuri's giggles.

"What are you laughing at," asked Himeko in annoyed and stiff English. "Honestly nothing funny has been said, so I don't know why you're laughing."

"That's none of your business," Matsuri bit back before walking over to Henry and gesturing at him. "Hey, Hank. Bend down for a second I want to tell you something."

"Okay." Henry nodded and dropped down to one knee while Matsuri leaned in to whisper something.

"Matsuri, don't you dare tell him anything..."

"Relax, Yuzu," said Matsuri with a wink. "I'm not telling him anything except a joke."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Yuzu sighed and gave Mei a weak smile before waving at her. "Hi."

"Hello." Mei waved back but quickly dropped her hand when she saw Himeko's eyes narrow in Yuzu's direction. "Glad to see you got back safely. Your trips go all right?"

"Yeah." Yuzu put the clothes back on the hangers, ignoring the small fits of laughter that Matsuri was emitting while she pointed at Himeko. "I just got in last night and spent a good chunk of it cleaning up someone else's messes before going over my paperwork and filing away all my expenses, and now I'm here shopping without any sleep."

"Then why aren't you at home," asked Mei, ignoring Himeko's growls at Henry and Matsuri who were both erupting into fits of giggles as they whispered to each other. "I mean you both sound tired and it is Saturday. Couldn't this have waited until you got some sleep?"

"You'd think that," chuckled Yuzu as Henry and Matsuri's giggles turned into full-on laughter causing Himeko to begin badgering them about why they were making so much noise. "But you know how much of a handful Matsuri is and when you add in Henry well..."

At that moment, Matsuri and Henry's laughs grew louder while Henry barely managed to gasp out, "Oruga," as he pointed at Himeko.

"What did you tell him," growled Himeko stomping up to Matsuri and stamping her foot as her voice instinctively moved to "I demand you tell me immediately."

"Yuzu," gasped Henry as he climbed to his feet and pointed at his face then at Himeko. "Yuzu, Yuzu, _oruga_."

Yuzu gave Henry a curious look then turned to Himeko's scowling face, and after a moment Mei saw her lips disappear into her mouth and a suppressed smile form on her face and a small snort escape her throat.

"That...Henry that's not polite," said Yuzu through a strained laugh before clapping a hand to her mouth while Mei tried to figure out what was so funny. "Mat...Matsuri I told you not to tell him something like that; it's mean."

"You're still laughing," gasped Matsuri as she used Henry's forearm to balance herself while she stood.

"That doesn't mean I can't think it's mean," said Yuzu after a couple of deep breaths and wiping her eye with the back of her hand. "But you know what happens once he gets something in his head and it's probably going to be stuck there all day."

"I've had enough being the butt of this joke," huffed Himeko, annoyed at how everyone continued to ignore her, as she raised her head and turned back toward where Mei and left their clothes. "Come along Mei-Mei; I think it's time we left these unrefined fools and return to our errands."

Himeko only made it a few feet before she realized Mei wasn't following her and turning around nervously asked, "Mei-Mei? Are you coming?"

"I'll be along in a few minutes," said Mei, curious about what it was that had gotten Matsuri and Yuzu so riled up, though she would be lying if she didn't say she felt guilty about the look of anguish that had appeared on Himeko's face thanks to her decision. "I promise."

Mei could swear she saw Himeko blink back a couple of tears, but instead of making a scene, she nodded and quietly said, "Very well, I'll see you shortly."

"Thanks, Himeko." Mei gave Himeko what she hoped was an appreciative smile, but if she had, Himeko made no sign of recognizing it and left without saying another word.

With a sigh of regret, Mei turned back around to see that Henry had moved over to a chair, a smile still plastered on his face as he messed around with something on his phone while Matsuri and Yuzu stared at her, both of them grinning stupidly.

"Mei-Mei," asked Matsuri with a snort. "She calls you Mei-Mei?"

"She's always called me that," answered Mei icily. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't mock her in front of me like that. She's been through a lot the past few months, and I don't want all her hard work to go to waste just because you found it necessary to tease her."

"I wasn't teasing her." Mei could tell by the tone of voice that Matsuri was using that she was somewhat sincere. "I was only pointing out something I found funny to Henry. But if it bothers you that much, I'll go over there and apologize to her."

"You will do no such thing."

While Mei was used to seeing Matsuri flinch slightly at her tone the look of fear in Yuzu's voice at how chilling her tone could be made her feel even worse.

"All right, I get it." Matsuri rolled her eyes, stretched her arms above her head and grunted. "I promise I'll play nice."

"Make sure you do."

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Matsuri as she finished picking up her clothes and clicking her tongue at Henry. "Hank, come on, we're gonna go and get you rung up."

"Okay."

As he stood up, Mei noticed how Henry still had the same smile on his face and could have sworn she heard him say, "Oruga," under his breath as he approached Yuzu and held out his hand expectantly.

"Card."

"Excuse me." Yuzu gently tapped the man on the head, forcing him to grumble and look up from his phone at her in annoyance. "Don't give me that look, you know better than to say something like that to me. Now say it properly, or we won't get lunch."

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Henry kept his hand extended and with a strained, but substantially more polite voice asked, "May I please have my card?"

"Yes, you may." Yuzu reached in and pulled the car out of her pocket and gave it to him. "You will only buy your clothes, got it?"

"I got it." Henry rolled his eyes and without even acknowledging Mei, followed Matsuri toward the register, leaving the two women alone.

"You going to be okay," asked Mei once they were by themselves.

"I'll be fine after we eat and get home," chuckled Yuzu after messing up her hair a little. "I'm going to be working from home for the next couple of weeks after all the traveling I've been doing."

"Good," said Mei taking a few steps closer toward Yuzu's side. "You deserve it. Especially after all of that."

"Thanks." Yuzu looked like she was about to say something, but instead of words, she let out a loud yawn making both of them laugh.

"I'm sorry," said Yuzu once they'd calmed down.

"Don't be." Mei carefully nudged Yuzu with her elbow and gave her an understanding nod. "I've been there before and after everything I saw and heard I get the feeling that this is normal for you."

"Not normally," said Yuzu with a small blush. "Today just happened to be a bad day. Normally Henry isn't this difficult, and I may have been a little hard on him. He has a lot on his plate at the moment since his bosses asked him to lead a project and it's starting to get to him. He's never had to do that before, and I'm sure he wouldn't have agreed to it if he knew he'd be asked to speak in front of a bunch of people but now..."

"I get it," said Mei with an understanding nod. "But I'm still sorry that you have to deal with it. Is there anything I can do?"

"I could _really_ use a night out," laughed Yuzu as she read a text message from Matsuri saying that they had finished with checking out. "I mean I like all of our chats and stuff, but I kinda just want to hang out with you; alone. Like we did at the bar, except no distractions. Think we can do that? Maybe this upcoming Friday, if that's okay? I mean, I get it if..."

"I'm free," said Mei a little louder than she intended causing her to blush and Yuzu to giggle at her excitement.

After recomposing herself, Mei nodded and in a much quieter voice said, "I'm free but are you sure it's okay? Don't you and Henry have something to..."

"He won't mind." Yuzu reached out and gave Mei's hand a gentle pat. "Friday's he's usually out with his friends, so I'll have most of the night free."

"But don't you two have a nightly talk?"

"How do you know about that?" Yuzu's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion causing Mei's pulse to quicken in fear that she'd blown any confidence Yuzu had placed in her.

"Harumi told me when we went to the movies," explained Mei, hoping that she didn't get Harumi in trouble. "She said you always have a talk at seven-thirty and I didn't want to cause any problems. She didn't say it was him, but after I met him that night I kind of put two and two together. Was I not supposed to know about that?"

"No, I'm okay with you knowing about that," said Yuzu with a relieved sigh. "But did she mention anything else or just that we talk?"

"Just that you talk," confirmed Mei, growing more curious by the second at why Yuzu had become suspicious. "I'll admit I did want to know more, but knowing how Harumi is, I knew she wouldn't be comfortable with telling me anything more, so I left the manner alone. Also, we'd just met, and I didn't want risk upsetting you."

"Thanks," said Yuzu returning the elbow nudge Mei had given her earlier, "and look, it's not that I don't want you to know, but it's a bit difficult to explain at times. I hope that makes sense."

"It does," said Mei sincerely before trying to mimic the same gentle pat on the hand Yuzu had given her. "I'll admit I do have some questions, but we'll go at your pace."

"I appreciate it," yawned Yuzu before rubbing her eye and pointing toward the direction Henry and Matsuri had headed. "Anyway, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I need to get going. Can I call you later?"

"Absolutely," said Mei, her mood lifting. "I'll probably be up all night trying to get caught up on some work so call me when you're ready."

"All righty." Mei watched Yuzu's hand move forward, expecting another pat but instead received a gentle squeeze. "I'll talk to you later."

After bidding Yuzu farewell, Mei watched as the blonde headed toward the exit, and when she was sure she was out of sight, Mei gently caressed the spot Yuzu had touched and caressed it gently before heading toward Himeko, her mood marginally improved as she approached an even angrier looking Himeko.

"Those nasty little...I can't believe Mei-Mei is friends with them."

"I'm friends with them because I like them," explained Mei causing HImeko to jump slightly and nearly drop her phone. "And I want you to like them too, Himeko, even if they're a little rough around the edges."

"I know you do Mei-Mei," sighed Himeko, as they made their way to the cashier, "and I am sorry that I lost my temper, but that one with the pink hair; I don't know what it is, but there's something about her that I don't like. The same goes with that blonde girl, Okogi. Not to mention that man who was with her that wouldn't stop laughing at me. What's his problem anyway, they seem to have an odd dynamic."

"I don't know, but I can ask her when we hang out next Friday."

"Excuse me," said Himeko as Mei punched in her PIN and handed a couple of bags to Himeko. "You're going out on a date with that...gyaru?!"

"It's not a date," snorted Mei at hearing the word Himeko had used to describe Yuzu. "We're just going to dinner or something so she can decompress. She travels for work, just like you, and she's been away from home for a couple of months, and she asked if I could accompany her next week. I don't know what we're doing, but it's nothing serious. Just two friends spending time together."

"I'll take your word for it," muttered Himeko while the exited the store and headed to the food court, surprised, but also glad that Yuzu and the others had decided to go somewhere else for lunch.

After grabbing some food, they sat down, and as they ate, Mei could see that something was bothering HImeko and after swallowing an unusually large bite of her cheese-steak, asked, "What's the matter? Did you want to go to a restaurant or something?"

"I'm fine with the food," sighed Himeko after taking a bite of her salad. "I'm just still annoyed about what that Mizusawa girl had that man calling me and the way they were pointing at me. Do you know what that word, 'oruga' means in Spanish?"

"No," said Mei after swallowing a few ketchup soaked fries. "I never took Spanish so you'll have to explain it to me." "

"Of course," sighed Himeko as she furiously typed something into her phone before slamming it so hard into Mei's hand that it stung.

Mei hissed before wiping her hands on a napkin and unlocking the screen. It took a moment to load, but when it did, and in spite the glare she was receiving, Mei couldn't help but smile at finally getting why Matsuri and Henry were laughing so hard as she read, "Oruga (Spanish): Caterpillar."


	9. Chapter 9

So here we go some more Yuzu, and Mei stuffs! Finally, the story will pick up its pace a little bit, and I have some artwork coming in for this story that will inspire a future chapter. OH, also Mistiqarts did some artwork for me! One is NSFW the other is an adorable scene from Uncomfortable Truths. That one you can find on Instagram. The NSFW one I may have to post on DeviantArt so...yeah... it's...phew...it was spicy! They're up on my DeviantArt under this same name and twitter hehe.

Now onward to dates or possible dates...who knows.

Also, Kayo will finally speak, and we will know her job within the first few paragraphs.

Chapter 9

"So, this is a tattoo...parlor...I believe that is the correct term if I'm not mistaken."

Mei looked up from the latest text message Yuzu had sent her about possible plans for their meet-up and chuckled at the look of discomfort on Himeko's face at the pictures and artwork that plastered the front of Mitsuko's shop, though Mei could tell that her best friend's grimace was focused more on the sign that prompted people to ask about the deal they were currently offering on specialty piercings.

"You're correct," said Mei after sending Yuzu a reply that she would text her back once she'd finished her errand. "This particular one belongs to my friend Harumi's sister, Mitsuko, and her…. _partner_ Kayo. Matsuri, the girl with the pink hair you saw at the mall, also works here. She just passed her licensing exam and has been trying to build up a client base, and Kayo handles the books and does most of the piercings if you can believe it."

"I see," snorted Himeko at hearing Matsuri's name. In the week that they'd seen Yuzu at the mall, Himeko still hadn't forgotten what Matsuri had said about her eyebrows and Mei was beginning to worry about how Himeko would react if Matsuri were in the building. "Is that Matsuri girl going to be the one who handles your 'touch up' as you called it or is this Mitsuko woman? And do they have the proper medical licenses to be performing these procedures?"

"Mitsuko," confirmed Mei, trying hard not to smirk at hearing the discomfort in Himeko's voice at addressing people she didn't know by their first name. "She's the one who originally did it, and she's done most of the other ones, though as part of one of her exams, Matsuri helped with the one on my side. And I don't know why you keep asking about the medical license; they aren't necessary here. But, if you're asking about whether or not the proper government channels have cleared them in terms of sanitation practices and building maintenance as well as certifications, then the answer is yes."

Mei pointed at the sign on the door showing that the building had been cleared by the necessary government parties.

"I know it's difficult, but you need to understand that like most of the world, getting a tattoo or piercing isn't considered a medical procedure. Both have been in practice for _thousands_ of years; Japan included. Besides, I thought the courts in Japan ruled that tattoos didn't require a medical license anymore."

"I wouldn't know about something like that," huffed Himeko crossing her arms. "But I've done some research about people who got infections from tattoos and these….what is a gauge piercing and why on earth would anyone want to get...good lord I don't even want to think about an earring going down _there_."

Mei smirked at seeing Himeko shuddered just as a brown-haired woman with glasses walked up; a gentle understanding smile on her face as she calmly said, "I can assure you that we take every possible measure to ensure that our client's health is taken into consideration before we do any work on them. As for your question about piercings; I can show you a picture of a gauge piercing if you're interested in getting one. However..."

Kayo coughed, and Himeko and Mei both noticed her face turn beet red.

"I'd ask that you reread the advertisement stating that we _won't_ do those kinds of piercings. Primarily because of the risk of infection and how dangerous they can be if not taken care of properly. But also for other reasons."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for clearing that up for me."

Mei watched as Himeko's face turn a similar shade of red at realizing that someone walking by had understood everything she'd said and had also replied in Japanese, though in a mildly fragmented fashion and at the fact that Kayo's manner of dress was in stark contrast to anything Himeko associated with people in the older woman's line of work.

It was a familiar sight to Mei by this point. Most of the time, people expected the employees to be wearing jeans, tee-shirts, hoodies or other casual forms of dress. Which most of the time is how Mitsuko and the others dressed, but there were days Mitsuko changed it up, by wearing slacks, a vest, and a button-up with her sleeves rolled up to allow for others to see the amount of tattooing she'd had done. Other employees in the shop, mostly the part-timers, followed suit, wearing varying states of business casual dress, all of them with some degree of tattooing or piercing, but Kayo was an anomaly amongst the group as she almost always wore an outfit almost identical to what she was currently wearing. Rarely did anyone from the parlor see her outside of her usual attire, the only regular ones being Mei and their usual crowd of friends, which made the look of shock and embarrassment on Himeko's face at seeing Kayo that much more amusing to Mei.

"You're very welcome." Kayo gave a slight bow before taking a small sip of her coffee and smiling at Himeko. "You must be Mei's friend, Himeko. I'm Kayo Taniguchi, with Taniguchi being my family name if that's what you wish to call me. I apologize if my Japanese is a little stiff or overly formal. I've only speaking Japanese in middle school since my grandparents and parents didn't put too much emphasis on us learning it."

"It's quite all right." Himeko gave a polite bow and smile in return. "And don't worry about your speech, I'm having no trouble understanding you. I'm sure some of that is thanks to Mei-Mei and that Matsuri girl."

"Somewhat," said Kayo with a smile and Mei could see her turning her gaze toward the window in the door. "They've been very helpful in helping correct my usage, but much of it is thanks to Mitsuko who I thought would have already been in the shop waiting for you. Have you two been out here long?"

"Only a few minutes." Mei felt and heard her phone buzz and noticed a glare from Himeko who had also heard it. "Is Matsuri working? I'm sure she can do what's needed if Mitsuko is busy."

"Matsuri is working on a client right now and has another one scheduled shortly after." Kayo gestured them toward the door and held it open while Mei gave her a searching look.

"Two clients already? Is Mistuko okay with that?"

"She's the one who suggested it." Kayo smiled and waved them in. "Besides, you know Mitsuko wouldn't allow it if she didn't trust Matty; no matter how much of a pain she is."

"I heard that," grumbled Matsuri over the loud buzzing of her needle as she wiped away some excess ink off a the well-toned thigh of a female customer who was dozing in a large comfortable brown leather chair that had a mechanism built into it to allow for Matsuri to extend each leg individually. "But I appreciate the vote of confidence. How you doing, _Oruga_?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that," snapped Himeko with a stamp of her foot. "You don't see me going around calling you offensive names so why must you do it to me?"

"Look who learned how to use Google" chuckled Matsuri, causing the corner of her client's mouth to twitch. "What are you gonna do, call my parents? Because honestly if you do, tell them I said 'hi' not that they'd give a crap."

"Matsuri that's enough," chastised Kayo, her calm tone causing both Matsuri and Himeko's next words to catch in their throat and the client's face to go back to its original neutral state. "Remember we're at work, not at home."

Instead of arguing back, Matsuri merely nodded and returned to her work while Kayo waved them back toward one of the larger chairs, amused at the look of amazement on Himeko's face as they walked through the shop.

"Not what you were expecting was it," asked Kayo, smirking at the look of amazement on Kayo's face.

"Not at all." Himeko sighed shook her head in defeat at realizing how little she knew about Mei's obsession.

"What'd you expect, her to be running it in the back of a butcher shop," asked Mei with a snort.

"I can do without the commentary," snorted Himeko as she watched Mei take a seat in a large black leather chair, much like the one Matsuri was using, though a bit more worn in and began examining the work station.

Despite knowing better, Himeko was beginning to think Mei was playing a trick on her. For the majority of her life, Himeko had always heard that places like this were only for criminals which had forced her to create her own prejudice against the kinds of people Mei spent her time with. But now that she was standing next to a well-organized workstation with an extensive series of binders, surgical gloves, disinfectants, and other well-maintained items, she was beginning to feel like a fool.

As she scanned the shop, Himeko saw similar supplies at each of the four other stations, and despite now knowing better, she couldn't help but wonder if someone was about to walk out wearing a doctors jacket and a surgical mask. Despite this, foolish notion, she noted that everything in the parlor was in pristine condition and practically spotless save for walls around each station showing a different person standing next to what she guessed was a willing client showing off the work they had just gotten done along with a few personal effects decorating the desks. There were even televisions on the walls showing some movie or television show, though Himeko guessed that was more for the clients than the workers. Outside of Matsuri, Mei, and the newly introduced Kayo, Himeko had no idea who anyone else was and when she was offered an extra stool she took it and sat down next to Mei and smiled at the picture hanging up on the wall that showed Mei and her grandfather standing next to a beaming woman with brown hair with a couple of piercings in her ears and dressed in a manner similar to Kayo.

"That was one of the last pictures I had taken with him," grunted Mei as she got comfortable in the cushy chair. "He'd been bothering me for weeks to bring him here to meet Mitsuko, and I eventually gave in, and I'm glad I did because Mitsuko was ecstatic when he complimented her sketchbook and almost burst into tears when grandfather gave her one of his paintings."

Mei pointed at the opposite wall to where a small impressionist style painting of what looked like horses running across a starlit field that caused Himeko's mouth to drop.

"It was one of his last ones I think," whispered Mei while Kayo began checking all of the equipment on Mitsuko's desk. "But nobody here knows he painted it so make sure you keep that to yourself."

"Of course." Himeko nodded and turned her attention back to all of the medical supplies. "Excuse me, but why do you have things like surgical gloves and hazardous material containers? I thought tattoos weren't' a medical procedure."

"Oh." Kayo jumped slightly at hearing Himeko begin speaking in English and took a minute to compose herself. "Well, technically, they aren't. But with tattooing and piercing, you end up breaking through the skin, which causes people to bleed and, as I mentioned earlier if we don't take the proper precautions, people can get infections. That's why we make sure everything is properly cleaned and sterilized between clients, and we make sure to inform the client on the proper aftercare once they leave."

Kayo handed Himeko a pamphlet while Mei clicked her tongue impatiently, wondering what was taking Mitsuko so long.

"Are you interested in us doing something for you?" A gentle smile spread across Kayo's face as she spoke. "I'm certain we can give you a discount since you're a close friend of Mei's and if you don't want Matty to work on you, we understand. She's a lot to deal with, even for us, and we've been friends with her for years."

"I heard that," shouted Matsuri from the receptionist's desk after she'd finished handing a pamphlet identical to the one Kayo had given Himeko to her client before letting her leave with a man whom they guessed was either her friend or brother. "Keep running your mouth and I won't do double duty anymore."

A few of the other employees laughed before returning to their work while Kayo chuckled before returning to Himeko.

"It doesn't have to be anything like Mei's gotten done or what you see on the walls. As long as we're comfortable with it and we're comfortable with the design you've picked we'll work with you on it."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm all right," said Himeko with a gentle wave of her hand "Back in Japan, my family enjoys taking trips to hot springs, and many have strict no tattoo policies. Not to mention my family's personal bias and my issues with getting one. I'm sorry if that seemed rude, I mean no offense."

"No offense taken." Kayo nodded in understanding and motioned toward the pamphlet. "But, if you could do me a favor. If you ever meet anyone interested in getting some work done, please give that to them. It has all of our information on it, and we're always accepting new clients, well most of us are. Mitsuko hasn't for a few months, but that's to be expected. She's got so much on her plate lately that I'm beginning to get worried."

"Is her other job getting busy again," asked Mei, wondering if that's why Mitsuko was running so late. "How many people is she working with this time? Excluding me."

"Just the one, but it's very complicated, and you know she can't tell me anything due to attorney-client privilege," sighed Kayo staring up at the ceiling, longingly. "I'm going to go and see if she's awake yet. Do you mind waiting a little longer?"

"I don't have any plans." Mei shrugged and pulled a worn book out of the pocket of her jacket and opened it from her bookmark. "Just inform me if she needs to reschedule and I'll text her about it later."

Kayo nodded and excused herself and headed behind a heavy, solid, wooden door that was located next to the one that read 'Bathroom', leaving Mei and Himeko alone while Matsuri welcomed another client and a few of the other employees announced that they would be heading to lunch or doing another project.

"Are you feeling better now that you've seen how seriously they take their jobs," inquired Mei as she turned the page of her book and began reading a passage about how Mrs. Frisby had narrowly avoided being eaten by a farmer's cat named Dragon.

"Quite." Himeko nodded and continued to look around at the parlor, finding the brown wood floors and shelving to be rather fitting of the place. "Though why did, Taniguchi-san look up when she was discussing your friend? Is that where her office is?"

"That," confirmed Mei, turning the page of her book, "and also because that's where they live along with Matsuri."

"Who? Taniguchi and this Mitsuko woman?" Himeko gave Mei a curious look before staring up at the ceiling. "Well if they're business partners I suppose living together would cut down on expenses."

"That's not exactly what I meant," said Mei, her ears burning when Himeko raised an eyebrow before pointing at a picture of Kayo and Mitsuko both wearing white lacy dresses with Mei, Harumi, and Matsuri standing next to them wearing long, flowing, v-neck dresses made of shimmering black cloth. "When I said 'partner' I meant more like a life partner, specifically marriage and Matsuri they kind of adopted along the way."

"Oh," said Himeko with a nod and followed where Mei's finger was pointing and after a moment, her eyes went wide as she placed a hand over her mouth. "You mean that woman in the picture and her are...is that legal here?"

"It is," said Mei with a smile, amused at how out of touch Himeko still was. "But they don't make a big deal about it. Most people know, and almost nobody cares. Though it hasn't been easy as Kayo's family is a little more traditional, which has led to them not speaking. As for what Mitsuko and Harumi's parents think; they don't talk about them much, so none of us know what they think about the situation. But their grandmother was at the wedding; that's her next to Harumi. And according to them, her opinion was the one they were worried about the most."

Mei watched as Himeko squinted her eyes and smiled at the sight of a wizened older woman wearing a bright blue dress and sun hat standing between Mitsuko and Harumi and nodded appreciatively, not even batting an eye at the large rose tattoo that covered a good portion of Mitsuko's arm, shoulder, and neck.

"They do make a good couple." Himeko nodded and smiled as she spun back around in her chair to face Mei. "I'm surprised you didn't tell me that you were a part of it. You look stunning in the dress you're wearing in the picture."

"It was a spur of the moment." Mei had all but forgotten her book thanks to the burning in her cheeks and ears. While she tried to refocus, she found herself remembering the morning when Matsuri and Harumi had dragged her from her house and onto a plane heading to Massachusetts for a wedding she had no idea she was going to be a part of. "Not to mention that since Harumi was the one in charge of getting everyone ready, I didn't have much choice in what I wore. But I appreciate the compliment."

Before Himeko could answer, there was the sound of footsteps, laughter, and whispers from behind the door that Kayo had used earlier causing Mei to roll her eyes at the sudden silence and Himeko to stare at it.

"What's that about?"

"Don't ask," sighed Mei returning to her book. "Unless you're into that sort of thing, I suggest you leave it be."

Just has Himeko was about to inquire about the meaning of Mei's words, the door opened to reveal a slightly disheveled, red-faced Kayo, and a grinning, bed-headed Mitsuko wearing an old worn-out black, band tee-shirt of what looked like an electric chair being struck by several lightning bolts and a pair of shorts that showed off large mandala style tattoo on her left leg that looked like a roaring bear and what appeared to be an infinity symbol made of a giant armored snake eating it's own tail encircling a giant tree wrapping it's way up her right.

After giving Kayo a quick kiss on the cheek Mitsuko nodded and began walking toward Mei only to be stopped by one of her employees, a tall, pale-skinned man with a piercing through the bridge of his nose, a bushy beard, and several tattoos handed her a pad and began asking her questions.

"I'd say go with this." Mistuko ran her finger across the page and after borrowing a pencil made a few adjustments to what was on the page. "Also, if it's who I'm thinking, remember that issue he has with his shoulder. You go too far up, and it's probably going to cause more problems. You got clearance from his doctor, right?"

"I wouldn't be working on it otherwise," said the man with a grin. "I got the email backed up and a few extra copies printed out. The doctor said that he should be good to go and I'm just waiting on the ink to come in. It's going to jack up the price, but better safe than sorry."

"Good job." Mitsuko nodded and stretched her hands above her head. "Any calls for me about my appointments next week?"

"Matty left a few messages on your desk earlier, but I don't think they were about shop jobs," said the man with a shrug. "They sounded more like your _other_ clients given the way she was talking, but I didn't hear everything, so I'm not sure."

"Thanks." Mitsuko peered past the man at Matty who was buried in conversation with a client who had just walked in the door; her hand was furiously moving across a large sketchpad. "Is she doing okay?"

"She's doing fine so far." The man nodded and scratched his beard. "Not that I didn't expect anything less. She's been here three years, and we've all worked with her. The regulars like her and she can handle herself, so I'm just going to say quit worrying and relax a little Boss. Honestly, you deserve a break and nobody would blame you if you and Kay..."

"If you want to keep your job, I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut."

Mei chuckled at the frightened look that Mitsuko had withdrawn from the man while Himeko simultaneously shuddered at the chilling atmosphere that emanated from Kayo's body.

"Su...sure thing, Boss," stuttered the man before pointing his thumb at his work station. "I...I'll be over here if you need me."

"Check to see if Kayo needs any help before you get back to it since you seem so keen on what's going on in our personal lives."

"Quit being so rude," tutted Kayo as she finished setting up a series of screens and headed over to Mitsuko, her hair done up in a bun that fully exposed the vast collection of small hoop and stud earrings that had been hidden beneath her hair. "You know full well he didn't mean anything crass. He was being polite and trying to say that they had everything covered if we wanted to relax for a little bit. Honestly, you should know better; he's been here longer than most of the others."

"And you should know that's why I'm so tough on him," huffed Mitsuko after wrapping a red bandana around her short hair before heading toward a nearby sink and began fervently washing her hands, her voice lowered so that only Mei, Himeko, and Kayo could hear her. "Which is why I expect him to be more professional than Matty and the others. Outside of you, he's the only one I trust to run the shop if I have to spend a few days in court. If I'm not hard on him, then it'll look like I'm playing favorites."

"Are you saying I'm not your favorite," teased Kayo with a wink, making Himeko and Mitsuko blush and Mei chuckle, her book long forgotten.

"How about we discuss this when clients aren't around," coughed Mitsuko, attempting to look composed. "Not to mention people we've never met before. Uhhh Mei, would you mind introducing your friend? I'm pretty sure I know who it is from what Matty said a couple of days ago, but I'd rather you do the honors."

"We're not done talking about this," scolded Kayo before heading to the front to greet a man and what looked to be his sixteen-year-old daughter and began asking what it was the girl wanted to get done.

"We never are," sighed Mitsuko as she sat in her chair, looking expectantly at Mei. "So, who is this? Are we using English or..."

"We can speak English," answered Himeko trying to sound much more confident than she felt. "And I'm Momokino Himeko though from what you said I'm sure you already knew that."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Mitsuko nodded and gave a polite smile. "I'm Mistsuko Taniguchi, and Kayo said she already introduced herself out front. Is that true, or was she lying?."

"It's true," Himeko nodded, cutting Mei off once again, her voice a little higher than usual, "and for the record, I think your wife is a charming woman."

"I appreciate the compliment," answered an astounded Mitsuko before turning her eyes toward Mei who was in the process of removing her tee-shirt, exposing the tank-top and tattoos underneath. Mitsuko could see the familiar red of embarrassment flooding Mei's ears and cheeks. "But who told you that? It wasn't Mei, was it? Because if I remember right, she _hates_ it when people expose personal information without permission, don't you Mei?"

Mei winced at the sudden stinging sensation as Mitsuko gave her shoulder a resounding slap.

"She said you didn't mind people knowing," said Himeko apologetically, pointing at the picture while a cold sweat poured down her cheek. "But if it's a problem I'm sorry. She only told me because I made a comment about you two being business partners and then she pointed out the picture and explained her mistake for not explaining your relationship more clearly. I'm sorry if I offended you, but I want you to know I think you all look lovely in it and I'm happy that you all are such good friends."

"Relax Momokino," chuckled Mitsuko; rewashing her hands and applying some hand sanitizer before putting on her gloves and preparing her equipment. "I was only teasing. I don't care that you know about Kayo and me. It's pretty much common knowledge for the people who come in here. I mean, it's not like we hide it."

"That's true," chuckled Mei pointing at a few rainbow flags that were placed strategically in the windows and door. "You guys have always been pretty welcoming to outsiders."

"Everyone needs a place," sniffed Mitsuko before asking one of her free employees to help her apply a surgical mask before cleaning the tattoo and pressed on a pedal beneath the chair, activating the needle. As she held up the needle, Himeko could see a smile form in the corner of Mitsuko's eyes and began her work as she jokingly said, "Even hopeless loners like you."

"I don't know whether to be grateful or insulted," chuckled Mei, wincing briefly at the initial sensation of the needle piercing her skin before getting lost in the rhythmic sensation of the needle moving gently across her skin.

"Doesn't that hurt," asked Himeko quietly, her face moving a little closer toward where Mitsuko's hand was expertly moving across the bear tattoo, filling in some of the faded ink.

"It did at first," sighed Mei as she felt a tingle spread thoughout her body. "But after a while, I tend to get lost in it and begin to enjoy how it feels. I think Mitsuko's the same; she's had a lot more work done than me."

"She's right," chuckled Mitsuko over the loud buzzing of the needle. "Not only that, but I've had a traditional tattoo done too."

Mitsuko took a moment to stop and show off what looked like some sort of tribal tattoo around her wrist before beginning to inspect her work. "Also, unless you're willing to wear a mask, please take a few steps back. I know you're curious, but I can't risk you breathing on this right now."

"I'm sorry." Himeko took a few steps back and watched Mitsuko work for a moment. "What do you mean by a 'traditional tattoo'?"

"It means that instead of a gun like I'm using, I went to someone who used a series of needles attached to a piece of wood and a stick to apply the ink." Mitsuko stopped for a moment, inspected her work, and nodded before sitting back and rotating her wrist. "I had it done on mine and Kayo's honeymoon when we went to New Zealand to visit a business contact who introduced me to a friend who specialized in this type of tattooing, and I figured, what the hell? Took about two days but I like it, and no you can't see it."

"How long did these other ones take," asked Himeko, amazed that someone could go to such lengths for a tattoo.

"Three weeks for the roses and about a week and a half each for the two on my legs." Mitsuko gave Himeko a smile Speaking of which, are you sure this is the only one you needed to rbe worked on? I have time, so I can do some extra work if you got it?"

"I'm fine with this." Sighed Mei, wincing again as Mitsuko began cleaning her shoulder. "You're busy, and I don't have any other ideas at the moment, but I'll send you a few pictures the moment I think of anything. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be resting and preparing for court? Don't you have some big case or something going on?"

"It's nothing I can't handle" Mitsuko winked at Himeko and after making sure Mei was taken care of, began cleaning up her equipment. "Besides, it's nowhere near as difficult as what I'm trying to figure out with your grandfather's paintings. I'd have had the one Yuzu found back to you already, but the lady who bought it off of that asshole is demanding more than what she paid even though I've proved to the courts it was stolen. Unfortunately for us, she's got pull with certain people that are allowing her to get away with this. I'm sorry, but I don't really have any other way and unless you okay it, we're probably going to lose it."

"How much more?"

Mei sighed and shook her head in defeat, aware that something like this would happen. The moment she said she'd pay for any information regarding the recovery of the paintings she'd known something like this would happen. But part of her had hoped that people would at least understand why she was asking for them back and wouldn't attempt to extort her like this. But like most things in life, it wasn't meant to be, and she was resigned to her fate of having to pay, though now that she thought about it it was her fault for offering rewards for the found paintings.

That's why she had no problem discussing it in front of the people in the shop as she'd been quite vocal about what she was going through and had waived any sort of confidentiality with Mitsuko regarding the matter.

"She wants fifty percent more, so you're looking at twenty-two and half," explained Mitsuko as she prepped a care package and handed it to Himeko. "She shouldn't need all of this, but if she does, can you help her since the tattoo is in a difficult spot."

"Offer her twenty and see if she's willing to take that," grunted Mei as she attempted to put her shirt on. "I'm sure she'll be happy making some profit, and it's not like I need the money anyway."

"If you say so, you're the client." Mitsuko sighed and let out a small yawn before making a note on her phone. "I'll let you know what happens. Are you sure you don't want me to put you on the waiting list because once I'm done with this current client, I'm not going to have a lot of free time."

"I'll be fine." Mei winced a little as she slid her shirt on over her head. "But I'm sure I'll see you soon. Please keep me posted about the issue with that woman and whether or not my presence will be needed. I do hope your other court dates go well."

"Thanks." Mitsuko nodded and smiled at Mei as the bell above the door rang, causing her face to screw up in confusion. "Hey, Yuzu! What the heck are you doing here?"

Mei's ears felt like they were on fire at hearing the name while Himeko scowled in the direction of the door.

"Harumin asked if I could drop these off," said Yuzu cheerily, the sound of her shoes echoing across the floor as she ignored Mei and handed a couple of large plastic bags to Mitsuko. She was dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a blue tee-shirt and was wearing a pair of star earrings while her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders and for the first time, Mei couldn't help but notice a noticeable amount of muscle definition to her arms. "She wasn't able to get away from her class today, so she asked me to drop it off for you guys and..."

Yuzu's eyes shifted from Mitsuko to Himeko, before turning into a bright smile once she saw Mei.

"Oh my god, Mei! What are you doing here?"

"She's a client," explained Mitsuko with a smirk, taking the bag and setting it on the table where they kept complimentary, iron pills, juice, and water for clients. "One of my oldest. We just got done doing a touch up on her shoulder tattoo."

"No way." Yuzu's smile only seemed to grow brighter and despite the fluttering in her stomach, Mei forced herself to remain calm in the face of such cheerfulness. "What's the tattoo? Can I see it?"

"Sure." Mei's voice sounded a little colder than intended and felt like someone had punched her in the stomach when she saw Yuzu's smile falter. "But, not here. I'm afraid you might scream a little too loudly when you see it."

Yuzu giggled at Mei's answer while Himeko snorted and stepped between Yuzu and her best friend, her arms crossed in yet another attempt to look intimidating.

"Excuse me, but aren't you forgetting something? It's rude to ignore someone standing right in front of you."

"What?" While Mei hid her behind Himeko's head, Yuzu continuously shifted her focus to Himeko, though her eyes kept flitting to the side to catch a glimpse of the artist. "What are you talking about? I'm not ignoring you. I just wanted to say 'hi' to Mei first."

"How about the three of you take this outside," said Mitsuko, her voice chilled and her gaze focused on Mei who gave her a hasty nod.  
"Himeko, let's go; _now_."

Despite her urge to argue, the tone in Mei's voice and the piercing gaze from Mitsuko kept Himeko in check and with a curt nod and a huff, followed Mei out while Yuzu stayed behind for a moment.

"Sorry about that," said Yuzu as Matsuri walked up and began inspecting the bag and pulled out a large raspberry pastry before grabbing a bottle of water. "I don't know what she has against me? That's only the second time I've ever talked to her, too."

"Maybe it's because you laughed at her when I commented on her eyebrows," snickered Matsuri after swallowing a large amount of pastry.

"Although if she doesn't want jokes made about them, maybe she should consider getting it taken care of."

"Of course you had something to do with it," grumbled Mitsuko, rounding on Matsuri. "If you knew she was a friend of Mei's, why'd you antagonize her given how often Mei stops by, not to mention the fact that you work here."

"Because it made Henry laugh." Matsuri shrugged and licked a bit of glaze from her fingers before going to wash her hands. "Also I didn't know Eyebrows was gonna show up. Last time I talked to Mei, she was out of town."

"So you made fun of her for Henry's sake?" Mitsuko sighed and shook her head as she rubbed her temple and gave Yuzu an apologetic look. "And I take it he became obsessed with that facial feature shortly after Matsuri pointed it out?"

"For three days" sighed Yuzu while Matsuri busied herself with grabbing a couple of more pastries. "Hey save some for the others."

"Matsuri quit hogging all the food," ordered Mitsuko though Matsuri paid her no attention. "Some of us still haven't had breakfast."

"Not my fault you slept in so late," snorted Matsuri before handing a few to one of the other employees.

After her coworker left, Matsuri took a few steps closer and in a whisper loud enough that only Yuzu and Mitsuko could hear asked, "Besides didn't you and Kayo get enough to eat when she went upstairs to get you?"

"I'm going to show myself out," blushed Yuzu while Mitsuko chewed on her lower lip and Matsuri snickered as she dodged her boss' attempts to kick her.

The last thing Yuzu before she left the shop was the sound of Kayo's voice attempting to soothe the fuming Mitsuko while customer and employee alike laughed at the scene playing out in front of them.

Once the door closed, Yuzu let out a sigh of relief only to gulp when she saw the glare Himeko had aimed at her, only daring to remain thanks to the nervous, but reassuring look Mei was giving her.

"So," chuckled Yuzu, nervously scratching the back of her head. "You guys hungry? My treat!"


End file.
